The AfterShock of the Black Wall
by OrganizedChaos5220
Summary: Ten Years after the Fall of the Black Wall a Young man Named Alex Cheval sets out on a journey to join the ranks of the Elite Four and to find out the truth of his fathers disappearance. Chapter 17 up now. Temporarily on hold.
1. Chapter 1: The End of Training

Chapter 1: The End of Training

It was a bright sunny morning in Pallet Town as Alex Cheval Made his way from his house in the center of town to the practice fields for his morning training session. He was a young man of average height and a lean muscular buid. He was twenty years old with short brown hair and hazel eyes. Alex wore a white T-shirt made for those who worked out in the sun and tan cargo shorts with a lighter tan cloth belt. He stopped, like he did every morning when he trained, at the Pokémon rental center to pick up his Pokémon for the day's match. Alex owned no Pokémon of his own like most of his small town. For this reason an rental facility had been installed, the facility would give visitors three Pokeballs containing randomly selected Pokemon. The Pokémon in question were all of the same strength and level so that fairness could insure irregularly strengthened Pokémon would not be a factor in the battles He was here for his final lesson under long time teacher and family friend Ethan O'Neil. Ethan was a large burly man who spoke in a gruff manner and rarely showed any emotions not related to the task in front of him. He had met alex's father years before but was never one to offer information of how or even where. As Alex approached with his Pokémon he wore a look of disapproval at his arrival time.

"Late as usual, are you" he stated hard pressed to keep the displeasure from his tone. "You're damn lucky your father wished me to assist you or you would be on your own. Oh well we had better get to business late or not." Alex felt a twinge of grief at the mention of his father who Ethan had told him had gone missing on a trip to the far away Sinnoh region five years prior.

"Yes indeed let's start this already and I don't want to hear any excuses when I wipe the floor with you either!" Retorted Alex a little put off by the mention of his father though he knew the man had meant no harm. "Pokeball go!" he shouted and threw his first Pokeball at the same time his adversary released his. A Mr. Mime sprang out ready to do battle with Ethan's Chignling that had been just released.

"How interesting that we find ourselves in a battle of two pure psychics." Said Ethan. "This should make for an excellent lesson of how to handle a battle where neither opponent has the advantage. As I've already told you it is wise to choose a Pokémon that will have a type advantage over the other but in this case it seems that neither does so we will have to make due"

"Whatever you say old man" Taunted Alex lightly. "Mr. Mime quick use Confusion." Waves of mental energy assaulted the chingling but it looked to be fine for the most part.

"Alright then Chingling show this amateur how to battle and use bite" The chingling attacked with surprising ferocity and clung on to Mr. Mime's left shoulder refusing to let go

"Didn't see that coming, a dark move out of a psychic type" said Alex "But things happen, Mr. Mime Doubleslap that thing off of you and use Reflect to slow down any more of this savagery." The maneuver worked to perfection and the small Pokémon was dislodged and flung to the other side of the battle field while Mr. Pipe waited patiently behind its wall of light.

I see not all of my lessons have been wasted on you. And there I was thinking that I have been been wasting my time." Ethan said calculatingly "Chingling use Teleport to get around that wall and Bite him again!"

"Mr. Mime hit it with a confusion right before it uses Teleport then Doubleslap it!" Alex's plan worked to perfection as chingling became confused and teleported to the wrong area of the field. before it had time to orient its self it was assaulted by a barrage of slaps. When the attack ceased chigling lay on the ground obviously unable to fight any longer.

"Ok then that was a good move it seems that you may actually be ready for the tournament tomorrow. Keep up your practicing for the rest of the morning then get yourself home to rest, after all you have a big day tomorrow."

"You mean we're done early?" Alex questioned. This was something that had never happened ever in his five years of training under Ethan.

Don't you ever listen to me, I said keep practicing. But there is nothing I can teach you at this point, the rest is up to you."

Alex continued to practice with the rentals until noon when he decided to take his teacher's advice and get some rest for the next day. As he approached the long path through the forest that separated the practice fields from the town he couldn't help but think about the next day. Tomorrow was the annual Pokémon tournament that would decide who was awarded Pokémon that year, gone were the days of trainers starting their journeys at the age of ten and setting off into the world untested. The new league rules required that all trainers must have won a league certified tournament to earn the right to begin their journey. These restrictions were in place as the world was a much more dangerous place thanks to a criminal organization that had called themselves The Black Wall. Though they had been disbanded for over ten years the regions were still plagued by the remnants of the evil group. Tomorrow would defiantly be a big day he thought but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

His mother was waiting for him out side their house. She was a middle aged woman whom age had looked kindly upon. She wore a pair of long brown shorts with a darker brown belt above this she had on a bright yellow polo shirt. Her hair was still a deep brown and flowed all the way to her waistline. She greated Alex with a smile and asked him how his day had been.

"Did you learn much from Ethan today?" she asked offhandedly, checking the mail she was bringing in from the mailbox.

"No today was more of a fine tuneing day" Alex replied deciding that it was close enough to the truth.

"Well I wish you good luck of course and I hope you can begin your journey soon." Seeing the look on Alex's face she continued. " I will of course miss you but its time you explored the world."

"Thank you mom." Alex replied

He couldn't wait to see what the next few days would bring.


	2. Chapter 2: Round One

Chapter 2: Round One

Alex woke up the next morning full of energy and as excited as he had ever been in his life. It was finally the day that he would get the chance to prove that he was worthy of beginning his quest to become a Pokémon master. Not that this adventure too far away places was his only ambition. His father had gone missing ten years before on a mountain climbing expedition in Sinnoh. He had not known his father that well before then because he always seemed to be traveling. Alex had been told he was doing important work but the specifics of which were never explained.

He raced out the door the moment he was dressed in his normal attire of jeans and a T-shirt. And with hardly a goodbye to his mother he went running the whole way down his street towards the fields where the event was to be held. In the back of his mind he feared that he might be late and have to wait until the tournament was next held, a year's time from now. Even though he was an immense hurry he as he raced through the streets of Pallet Town he admired again its simple beauty and warm welcome feel. If all went as he hoped this would be one of the last days he had left here in this small town and he wondered when the next time he would see it would be. Probably the day he set off for the league he reminded himself after all the league's HQ wasn't far from Viridian City which was a short journey to the north of Pallet Town.

After what seemed like far too long a time, a feeling feed by his steadily increasing anxiety that was threatening to overcome him, he reached the outskirts of town where the tournament was to be held. There was no fancy stage or clearly marked ring; instead there were stones laid in a row to form an octagon very much unlike the official rectangular battle fields used in gym challenges. The setting was in front of local and regional Pokémon expert Rebecca Oak's Laboratory building, which was situated by the side of the strait that separated Pallet Town from the volcanic Cinnabar Island. Rebecca Oak was the granddaughter of the now famous Professor Oak and seemed to take after his love of studying Pokémon. She had even taken over his job of starting new trainers off on their journeys by giving them a starter Pokémon. The professor was standing on a stage around ten yards away from the battleground looking uncomfortable and uninterested in the affairs as a whole. However she soon took the podium and looked ready to start the tournament ready to start the tournament.

"The Annual Journeyers' Cup tournament will start in ten minutes. All participants should register themselves and receive a Pokeball containing your partner Pokémon for this event and a contestant number, which will be used to determine the tourney tree, from the registration booth." Rebecca began as she gestured to a table to her left that was lined with 16 Pokeballs. "I wish you all the best of luck with your battles."

Alex walked over to the booth surprised to be the first in line and waited to be addressed by the tournament official operating it. He was given a Pokeball and a card with the number eight on it then was directed to the side to make room for the rest of the contestants to receive their Pokémon. The contestants were mostly from Pallet Town but there were a few that he did not recognize including a man in a completely purple suit who seemed to be followed around by what looked like most of the preteen girls in Pallet Town. Alex ignored this and went to find a place to rest before his first battle. He stopped under a tree by the bay and looked down at his Pokeball wondering what was inside of it, official rules said that challengers could not set the Pokémon free until their first match had begun but he was dying to know what he had choose! Before he could ruin his chance before the games had begun Oak was back to her microphone announcing the tournament line up.

"Will Alex Cheval and Angus Bartholomew please report to the octagon for the first match?" Rebecca said in a monotone voice that expressed little emotion.

Shit. Thought Alex, he hadn't expected to be the first battle; he had been hoping that he could rest for a while. As he approached the ring newly gained Pokeball in hand his anxiety was at an all time high and his adrenaline was spiked, but strangely it felt right. Opposite from him was a boy no older than fifteen with a heavyset frame and a light but not quite pale complexion; he wore blue overalls, a short sleeved flannel shirt and a straw hat that sat in his dirty blonde hair. Alex looked over at him and gave him a quick nod which was promptly returned as it was all either of them could manage.

"Please take your positions in the trainer's boxes" Instructed Oak referring to rectangles on opposite sides of the ring about three feet in length and two in width. "Do not leave these unless there is an errant attack by your foe. Any such attacks will be met with swift disqualification. Am I understood?" she asked a serious note creeping into her voice as she explained the safety procedures. When they both nodded and took their respective positions she lifted her hands to signal the start of the match.

"Go Pokeball" Both Alex and Angus yelled at the same time tossing their Red and White orbs into the Octagon. Two Flashes of Red light were seen and both Pokémon appeared Alex had released a Magnemite, a shining ball of steel with an unblinking eye the center of it and two red and blue tipped horseshoe magnets serving as arms. Angus had been dealt a bad hand an out popped a Poliwag, a small blue tadpole like creature with small stubby feet, a long tail, and a constantly swirling stomach. Alex couldn't believe his luck, this was one of his favorite Pokémon and he couldn't have asked for a better type matchup. Angus's face fell when he saw what he had released and the look in his eyes showed he had all but given up already.

"Poliwag Doubleslap." Angus muttered halfheartedly. Poliwag did its best to damage the steel ball in front of it with a series of hard slaps from its tail but if Magnemite felt the attack it didn't show it.

"Let's end this quickly Magnemite, use Thundershock" Alex commanded. Magnemite's eye locked onto its target and its magnets crackled with stored electricity, in a movement almost too fast for the eye to see electricity shot from Magnemite and scored a direct hit on a still flailing Poliwag. The force of the blow sent the small creature flying backwards where it landed in front of Angus clearly unconscious.

"The Winner of Round One is Alex Cheval!" Rebecca shouted struggling to be heard above the roar of the crowd, as the static from Magnemite's Thundershock had shorted out her megaphone. "Alex please report to the winner's tent for medical assistance if necessary and wait for your next match. Angus please return your Pokeball to the Registration Booth and I wish you better luck in your next challenge." Alex watched as Angus walked away looking disheartened and felt sorry for him that he had been dealt such a bad first match but was glad he was given the upper hand.

The winner's tent was some 100 yards from the ring presumably so the contestants could not see each other battle as that was strictly forbidden. The tournament's main objective was to see how well one battled and allowing others to watch and see the style of their opponent would ruin it completely. As he walked away from his first victory Alex felt a sense of small accomplishment, but knew he would not be given an opportunity like that again and he would have to rely on the skills Ethan had departed unto him to keep winning in this tournament.


	3. Chapter 3: Rat Races

Chapter 3: Rat Race's

As Alex sat in the tent contemplating his next match his thoughts turned to his father who had disappeared several years earlier. The story Alex had received when he asked Ethan who had been with his father's group was this; he had been exploring Mt. Coronet with a group of scientists on their way to study Spear Pillar in an attempt to research the distortion world. However their luck turned for the worst when they ran into a group of particularly violent Golem, his father had stayed behind to battle them while the scientists gathered their equipment and ran away leaving him stranded and lost on the mountain. Search parties had been sent out but when they got to the trail he had been defending an avalanche had blocked off the path and he was never found. This story had been told to him by Etha a week after the tragic accident had happened. He was only ten years old at the time and had not taken the news very well. Ten years later he was still coming to grips with the loss of his father but the sting of the night Ethan had delivered the news was slowly lessening. Recently he had tried to find out more than the simple story he had been told but whenever he tried to pry additional information out of the Ethan he refused to speak any further about the subject.

Soon he was ripped from his thoughts by Rebecca Oak announcing that he was needed at the Octagon for the second round. He gathered up his Pokeball and started to head back towards the arena feeling confident. The anxiety he had felt before his match with Angus was still present but he no longer felt the nearly crippling feeling of nervousness that had threatened to envelop him the last time he had step foot into this ring. As he took his place in his trainer box he saw that a small crowd had gathered for this match. It was not uncommon for the town's population to come watch the battles but it was unusual for this many to show up for a second round match. Though he supposed that if they had come to support him that it couldn't hurt his chances of winning the match so the more the merrier.

But on second look it didn't seem tht many of the fans were there to support him. Indeed it seemed that the group of preteen girls he had seen following the purple clad figure were in attendance and from the looks of the situation they had multiplied to at least twice the size of the previous crowd.

"The second round of the Journeyer's cup will now commence, featuring Alex Cheval and a special guest Pierre Colston of Fuchsia City." Announced Oak a bit more excited than she had been all day and alex could have sworn he saw her sneak a look in at the challenger. An excited murmur rippled through the crowd and several shrill screams of excitement were let loose. Standing in front of him was a man only a few years older than him dressed in a full length purple coat complete with tassels and fringe, a purple suit, and to complete the look a purple hat with an ostentatiously sized feather of an exotic Pokémon stuck into it. "Let the Match Begin!"

"Go Magnemite!" commanded Alex throwing his Pokeball into the arena. Pierre however simply stood there and gave him a disapproving look.

"How rude. You're not even going to introduce yourself to your challenger? Well I should have expected as much out of a trainer from such a backwater dump such as this." Said Pierre with a sneer, though his fans seemed not to hear his harsh criticism of their home. "C'est la vie, I shall be the bigger man and not return your favor of rudeness, my name as the lovely Rebecca Oak has informed you is Pierre Colston. I flew in today on my private helicopter to battle in this tournament only because Fuchsia City does not stand for such brutality and would never host such a thing. It is sadly necessary if I am to receive my first Pokémon and set out to accomplish my dream of traveling to Sinnoh to compete in the contests in the majestic Hearthome City."

All Alex could do was stare at the bizarre man and wonder to himself just who the hell he thought he was, Pallet Town may not be the biggest town but a backwater dump? This strange man had taken it too far and it was up to Alex to defend his home's reputation!

"I don't know much about any contests but I can sure tell you this isn't your year, now are you going to stand around all day looking like an idiot or are you going to battle me?" replied Alex with a tinge of anger in his voice. Magnemite on the other hand simply looked bored with the proceedings, not at all impressed by Pierre's strange clothes or elitist manor.

"Very well if you insist Pokeball go!" The purple clad man said almost lazily. A small rat with large front teeth and fur as aggravating as its owners clothes popped out. Alex of course easily recognized it as a Rattata, a small rodent like creature. Mostly Rattatas were seen as a pest that sometimes knocked over trashcans in his neighborhood rather than a legitimate battler.

"Magnemite use Tackle on this oversized rat"

"Rattata meet it head on with a Tackle of your own" Countered Pierre. This ill advised attack resulted in what would be expected when a large rat attempts to tackle a moving ball of steel and Rattata was thrown back to the edge of the ring momentarily stunned. Though it took a few seconds to get to its feet Rattata was still able to battle.

"Quick, Magnemite hit Rattata with a Thundershock while it's down"

"Rattata use Quick Attack to dodge then use Tail Whip to lower Magnemite's Defense" The crafty little rat instantly shot to its feet and speed under Magnemite's electrical beams whipping the steel creature with its tail and spinning Magnemite in a circle that left the magnetic ball dazed. This sent the girls in Pierre's camp into a screaming frenzy as they vied to congratulate him for his brilliant ruse.

"That was a cleaver ploy I must admit. Having Rattata fake that it was damaged more than was the case but it won't survive another Thundershock."

"Rattata use the same strategy as before!" Once again Magnemite ended up spinning like a children's toy as Rattata dodged another charged burst.

"Ok he's faster than you so let's try something different Charge up as much electricity as possible then use Thundershock, but this time save some of that energy"

"You really are as dense as you look aren't you?" said Pierre in amazement "Rattata this time hit him with a Tackle attack while he's dazed!"

This time around however just as Rattata was preparing to spin Magnemite like a top for the third straight time it released a sudden burst of electricity that traveled through Rattata's tail and stopped the rodent in its tracks. When the dust had settled from the fight Rattata lay on the ground twitching in an obvious daze and was decreed ineligible to fight. Alex had just won the match and the right to leave on his own Pokémon adventure!

"Using Rattata's Tail against us as a sort of lightning rod was an interesting idea but one that seems to have worked rather well' remarked the still seemingly uninterested Pierre. "It really is a shame that my run must end like this but I suppose my travels will have to wait until next year."

With these remarks he returned his rented Pokémon and headed back towards the Registration Booth. Alex returned his own Pokémon and turned towards the winner's tent once again. This time however he felt he had earned his victory and was feeling much better about going into his third match, a final four match that should prove to be a tough test indeed.


	4. Chapter 4:Poison Point

Chapter 4: Poison Point

As Alex approached the fields for the third time in the same day he felt for the first time that he may actually have a shot at winning this tournament. After all he had made it to the final four and earned the right to start his own journey into the vast world beyond his small town, why shouldn't he start his training career of on a good start? Full of confidence he stepped into the Trainer's Box and looked across the ring. However instead of a trainer there was no one occupying the opposing box and no sign of anyone anywhere in sight.

"Will Derrick Derring please report to your position" Came Rebecca Oak's monotone voice that at this point was starting to feel like a rather annoying drone to Alex. "If you do not take your spot within the next five minutes you will be disqualified" She continued looking a little put out that Alex may win by default sense he had defeated her farorite contestant the last round and she seemed to want him to be the next to fall.

Alex started to feel nervous at these words while he would win the round it would not be in the fashion that he wanted. A win was a win but none the less a win by disqualification was never a desired outcome. Honestly he thought that he would rather loss in a fair fight than be looked at as the challenger that only won through his adversaries not showing up. Before this train of thought could run any further a figure suddenly shot up from the ground in the training box!

"Worry not the great master of disguise and ninja extraordinaire Derrick "Darkness" Derring is here to take on all challengers!" This voice belonged to a boy of no more than thirteen dressed in a black suit and a black headband. He was small even for his age but looked as though he was fairly nimble. Alex was immediately relived but at the same time was confused by Derrick's sudden appearance.

"I'm sorry but why exactly did you burry yourself in the ground?" asked Alex unable to keep the confusion from his voice.

"Surprise is the greatest weapon a ninja can have." Derrick replied as if it was something he thought should be apparent to everyone there.

"So are you a ninja then? You look a bit young to me." Alex said with a questioning look towards Oak who had to her credit restrained from laughing at this spectacle.

"Not quite." The small boy said with a downward look. "But I will be soon! As soon as I defeat you I will go study under Ninja Master Koga and train to become the greatest ninja this world has ever seen!"

"Sounds like you have some high hopes for your self." Alex replied thoughtfully. "I'll try not to dampen them too much. Now I think we are both ready to begin this battle." He said this last line with another look toward Rebecca Oak who had been turned away from the small boy to hide her laughter she could no longer hold managed to regain herself long enough to signal the start of the match but immediately after had to hide her face.

"Go Nidoran" The would be ninja said as he threw his Pokeball perhaps a little too enthusiastically into the field of play "Let's show this fool the devastating effects of poison!"

"Go Magnemite" Alex responded tossing his Pokeball as well. "Uh let's just win this battle alright." Magnemite shot of electricity from its magnets as if to agree and faced its foe.

The foe in question was a small purple rabbit like creature with spines that stretched the length of its back. On the Pokémon's head was a large horn that seemed to be covered in a toxic looking film. Had it not been less than two feet in height and weighed less than 20 pounds it may have looked like a ferocious beast, but as it was it looked like an overgrown mutant rabbit.

"Nidoran use Poison Sting on that ball of scrap and show it the power of a crippling poison!" Instructed Derrick. The small creature's horn grew a bright purple and it charged at Magnemite slamming into the steel ball inflicting no visible damage.

"It seems you have forgotten my friend that Magnemite is part steel type and will therefore not be affected by your poison attacks." Alex chided in a taunting voice as he had grown tired of this ninja's banter already. "Magnemite use Tackle!"

Magnemite charged across the ring to where the purple rabbit lay and smashed into it sending it flying. The small Pokémon laid on the ground for a moment before shaking itself back to reality.

"We won't be defeated that easily will we Nidoran? Get up and use Double Kick!" Hurt but determined the Nidoran ran across the octagon and flipped over Magnemite kicking it with both of its back legs as it passed landing perfectly on the edge of the ring. This time it was Magnemite's turn to be sent flying as the fighting move landed two solid hits. Fortunately being a ball of steel lended Magnemite a stall worth defense and it was relatively unharmed.

"I will admit that you surprised me there with that fighting move but this is where the battle ends, Magnemite Thundershock now!" Bolts of lightning shoot across the ring hitting the poisons rodent full on causing it to lose its footing and fall on its side"

"Quick hit it with another Double Kick before Magnemite can react!" However it seemed as though Nidoran couldn't move as it simply sat on the ground in pain. "No! You paralyzed my Pokémon! No Fair!" Exclaimed Derrick overlooking that his plan coming into the battle had been to poison Alex's.

"Nidoran is unable to battle. Alex is the winner!" Declared Oak. "Both of you report to the winner's tent and heal your Pokémon." Alex wondered if he had heard her right when she had said both of them would go to the winner's tent. However rather than question this new turn of events he returned to the tent with Derrick.

They started a conversation as they walked next to each other. Derrick was a surprisingly good sport about the whole thing but his confidence seemed unbroken.

"You got a lucky shot with that Thundershock. That won't happen next time we battle." Derrick informed Alex as they made the trek to the tent.

"What do you mean next time we battle?" Alex asked. "You lost your run in the tournament is over."

"But I lost in the final four which means that I am still approved to go out and start my own journey and I'm sure I will battle you again." The small boy declared. Alex simply nodded his head thinking it very unlikely that he would ever face this mini-ninja again but not wanting to start an argument.

Soon they reached the tent and parted ways to their respective healing centers. As Alex waited for his Pokémon he pondered again his future. His immediate plan was to take the Gym Leader challenge and win all eight badges of the Kanto region. Once he accomplished that he would be eligible for entry in the Indigo league.

The Indigo League was the ultimate challenge for trainers. It consisted of a race through a very challenging cave known as Victory Road where the strengths of the trainers and their Pokémon would be put to the ultimate test. The first 64 trainers to pass through this harrowing cave would then face off in an elimination style tournament of the same format of the one he was currently involved in. The winner of this tournament would then be awarded the Indigo League Champion title and would be offered a battle with one of the mysterious Elite Four or if he allowed it the Elite Four champion himself. The Elite Four were the four most powerful trainers in all of Kanto and perhaps the world and even a battle with one of them would be a great honor. If one did manage the impossible and defeat one of these trainers it was rumored that that trainer would be given their spot in the Elite Four.

This was Alex's dream, to become a member of the Elite Four, one of the Guardians of the world. After all it had been the Elite Four and their counterparts in other regions that had eventually crumbled the Black Wall. Not that Alex knew much of the Crime syndicate that had terrorized much of the world. All he knew was that they had briefly taken control of the Pokémon world and had left much of it in a bad way even after their destruction.

Though he was a long ways off right now he knew that with enough work he would one day achieve his dream and become the greatest trainer in the entire world.


	5. Chapter 5: A Rock and A Hard Place

Chapter 5: A Rock and A Hard Place

This was it the final battle of the Journeyers Cup Tournament. There was only one battle left before Alex could start on this journey but as usual he had no idea the nature or identity of the trainer he would face. Alex was feeling like he had the first time he had ever battled, ten years ago. When the news had come of his father's disappearance from Ethan he had also told Alex that his father had requested that he train Alex should anything happen to him. So respecting his friend and Alex's father's wishes he had taken Alex on as an apprentice.

Alex remembered the first few weeks of his training with embarrassment and they were something he generally cared to forget. The nonpractical lessons on types and moves had gone fine and he had progressed rather quickly but when it came time for practical lessons he had bombed out of the test. He would never forget the first time he had attempted to order one of the rental Pokémon to perform a move in a practice session with Ethan. The Pokémon in question had been a Jigglypuff chosen by Ethan as he felt it would be an easy enough task for Alex to command because of its usually relaxed nature. This project failed miserably and ended up with Alex fast asleep on the practice floor while Ethan laughed and eventually woke him up with a bucket of ice water.

Though he had come quite a ways since then Alex had never faced this kind of a situation before and was exceedingly nervous about being in a championship match. So it was with what seemed to be a million butterflies in his stomach that Alex made his walk to the Octagon for what would be the final time, win or lose.

What he found at the battleground nearly floored him. There standing in front of him still as a boulder was none other than his teacher Ethan O'Neil. If he was anxious before it had been nothing compared to what he felt upon seeing his mentor standing calmly in the Trainer's Box opposite him.

"Oh I should have known it would be you that I would have to do battle with" Said Ethan with a smile "Seems that some of my training did sink in a bit then. But I'm terriblly sorry if you still think you will win this tournament. You see I have got a streak going for me. It has been five years in a row that I've won this shindig and I won't be dethroned without a fight."

"We'll see about that old man" Alex said his competitive fire flaring from Ethan's speech. Though he knew Ethan was just trying to goad him into being careless he couldn't resist adding one more jab. "By the end of this match there will be a new champion in Pallet Town!"

"You're your father's son alright. Give me a good fight then!" Ethan said these last words as he threw his Pokeball into the ring.

"I'll give you more than you can bargain for!" Alex yelled back as he released Magnemite. He turned to look at the Pokémon he would be facing in his final contest and the result made his heart drop. Sitting in front of Magnemite was a Geodude, a small but powerful Pokémon that resembled a small boulder with arms. It was a ground type making Magnemite's electric attacks useless and its dual ground/rock status made physical attacks about as effective as they were on his own Pokémon. Alex truly looked to be in trouble in this match and no one had yet to make a move.

"Now who has the advantage?" laughed Ethan "Geodude use Mudslap and blind him!" Geodude wind milled its arms throwing large clumps of mud at Magnemite that sent it reeling and clouded its vision.

"Magnemite, quick, dodge!" Instructed Alex. Magnemite quickly moved away and the attack subsided but Alex could tell it had taken its toll on the electric Pokémon but he wasn't willing to give up that easily. "Magnemite Tackle it and throw its balance off!" Magnemite collided with Geodude with an attack that sent the rock Pokémon rolling away but did little in the way of harming it.

"Ha ha we seem to have you in a bit of a bind here don't we?" Taunted Ethan continuing to laugh. "Geodude use another Mudslap."

"Magnemite use Thundershock to stop the mud!" Countered Alex. The strategy worked perfectly with the electricity breaking the mud into small harmless pieces of dirt.

"Oh yes I have seen that strategy before. It was one of your father's favorite tricks." Said Ethan looking completely unfazed by his attack's lack of affectivity. Alex knew that there were only so many times that tricks like that would work and that he needed to think something up quick. One more Mudslap and Magnemite was finished. With a double weakness to ground moves it just couldn't take another ground attack. Then it hit him. Though being steel type opened up weaknesses it also gave Magnemite access to steel type moves which happened to be rather effective against those of the rock persuasion. This was a risky move because if he failed Magnemite was wide open for a direct Mudslap.

"Magnemite try out a Magnet Bomb!" Without missing a beat as if it had been expecting this all along Magnemite formed a silver ball of steel in front of its self and launched it at its craggy foe. The result was astounding; Geodude was lifted into the air from the force of the blow and landed outside the ring clearly unconscious.

"Way to go Magnemite" Shouted Alex with joy, He had just won the Journeyer's Cup!

"Oh well, my streak had to end sooner or later may as well be to you" Conceded Ethan almost congratulatory but with a smile on his face.

Later that day what seemed like the whole town crowded around the stage by the battlegrounds to watch Alex receive his trophy. He looked for his mother but couldn't manage to make her out before he was presented with the trophy from Rebecca Oak.

"I do hereby confer upon you the Journeyer's Cup Champion's Trophy, it is yours to keep until next year's tournament when you will either have to relinquish it or return to defend it." She said in the same monotone she had used throughout the whole ordeal, with the exception of any matches involving a certain resident of Fuchsia City, while handing Alex a rather large golden cup. He accepted in awkwardly as she continued on with her speech. "By winning this cup you have full rights to begin your journey as a Pokémon trainer and are eligible at this time to take the Indigo League Gym Challenge. You may choose to keep the Pokémon you were given to start the tournament or if you would rather chose from one of these three traditional starters you may do so" She said while gesturing to three Pokeballs containing a Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle on a table nearby.

"I think I am going to stick with Magnemite actually." Alex replied satisfied that if Magnemite could get him through this tournament then it was a worthy Pokémon and partner to have.

"Very well then I now present you with an official Trainers Card and the prize money of 300 dollars. I wish you good luck in whatever it is that you may do." After giving Alex an envelope containing the specified items she almost ran back to her lab apparently impatient to get back to her research.

Alex looked around and waved to the dissipating crowd and left the stage heading for his house. His mother was waiting for him at the base of the stage with a beaming smile on her face.

"You did it honey!" She said excitedly "Your father would have been so proud." She wiped tears from her eyes after she said this though whether they were of happiness or from remembering his father Alex could not tell.

"Thanks mom." He said carefully not wanting to upset her. "Did you see my battles?"

"I sure did! You were spectacular! You'll be Elite four champion in no time!" She declared with actual sincerity. Alex knew she believed every word she was saying and was happy his mother had such faith in him. "Now I believe Ethan had something to say to you so you should go talk to him." She informed Alex. "I'll see you at home!"

Sure enough on his way back to town he was stopped by Ethan who motioned to him to follow him but did not say a word. He followed Ethan Back to his house, which was directly next to his own, then followed the man inside. Ethan looked more serious than Alex had ever seen him before and it was a stark contrast to the lighthearted Ethan he had seen at the battlefield.

"What's wrong Ethan?" Alex asked looking concerned

"I think that it's time that you learned some of the truth about your father"


	6. Chapter 6: The Truth

Chapter 6: The Truth

"What do you mean it's time for me to hear the truth?" Alex asked with a look of shock. He had never doubted the story told to him by Ethan and why would he, Ethan had been a very close friend of the family for years why would he lie? "What the hell are you talking about Ethan?" Alex began to lose his composure wondering what it was Ethan meant.

"The first thing you need to know is that my name is not Ethan, it is Brock so stop calling me that. I was a close friend of your fathers as you well know. I was chased from my gym in Pewter City when the Black Wall took power and changed my name to disguise myself."

"Disguise yourself from whom?" Alex asked skeptically hoping wondering if this was all a joke Ethan was playing.

"Giovanni's thugs mostly. You see even though the Black Wall may have collapsed as an official organization there are still remnants of it active in the world. These are very desperate men that will stop at nothing to avenge the fall of their leaders." Brock said dropping a mental bombshell that nearly floored Alex.

"Wha?" Alex asked not able to speak in full words.

"Giovanni former head of Team Rocket and head man of the Black Wall."

"I know who Giovanni is but I don't understand why these men are after you. Why would they care about one gym leader when the Elite Four were the ones to bring down their empire?"

"I will get to that in a moment." Brock said silencing Alex with a raised hand. "But first I brought you hear to tell you the truth about your dad so we have to start with him." Brock paused as if to collect his thoughts and continued seriously. "Ten years ago I told you that your father disappeared while defending a group of scientist on Mount Coronet, and that was a lie. Your father to my knowledge has not left the Kanto region since he returned after being defeated in the Sinnoh league and retiring from competitive training."

"So your saying that he is still alive!" Alex asked hope building up inside of him.

"Alex please. Let me finish my story before you ask your questions." Brock said not answering the question Alex had posed for him. "The truth is that your father and I made our selves some rather powerful enemies in the Black Wall's higher rankings. You see in the days after the takeover everyone was scared to the point of paranoia, most of the police force and the gym leaders were driven into hiding and most took on false personas like mine. There was hope however, within a year Dragon Master Lance had already started putting together a coalition to stop this spread of terror, and as soon as I heard of his plans I contacted Red."

"And he joined you just like that?" Alex asked having never heard of his father in this light. Usually when told stories of his father they were of a man that studied Pokémon and rarely battled, but here Brock was telling a story that flipped what he knew on its head. "And where is he now?"

"I told you have patience and I will tell you all I know. And to answer your first question no, it took a fair bit of convincing to get leaving you and your mother. You see the stories you have been told of your father spending all his time researching are half truths. He did spend a fair bit of time with research teams in old ruins and the like but as a guide and protector not a scientist by any means. No Red was always a battler and a damn good one at that. But you have to understand that even though he was not one to turn down a battle he had you and your mother to think about, the Black Wall was causing general chaos and mayhem everywhere and he wanted to stay and protect you but in the end he came to agree that Pallet Town was still too close to the League Headquarters for Giovanni and his cronies to dare bother with." Brock explained. "We flew to the Indigo Plato the next day and Lance explained to us his plan of attack. Apparently there were three former Team Rocket defectors who were appalled by the direction the group had taken and they shared with us vital information regarding top secret Black Wall documents."

"Who were the defectors? What Documents? Why have I never heard about any of this? Why haven't you told me any of this before?" Alex said his voice rising on the verge of yelling. "Where the Hell is my dad? What the Fuck is wrong with you how could you not tell me this sooner?"

"Alex you have to understand—"Started Brock but Alex cut him off midsentence.

"No I don't want to hear your bullshit, tell me where the hell my dad is!"

"I have no idea where Red is Alex. If you want to know that there is only one person that may be able to help you."

"And who the Hell is that?" Alex yelled his anger suddenly swelling "What did you do? Why did you get him involved in your stupid mission?"

"Alex I am going to only say this once so you had better listen. Your father did what he did out of his own choice no one me included forced him to do what he did. He made a choice for you and your mother and the rest of the world."

"What are you talking about Brock?" Alex said slightly calmer but still obviously shaken. "Quit giving me half answers I want the truth, you said you were going to give me the truth dammit!"

"I will give you your answers but you have to hear me out. I understand that you are angry at me for keeping this from you but I promised Red I would not tell you any of this until you absolutely needed to know. Now are you willing to hear me out, because if not continuing this is pointless?" Asked Brock and after a nod confirming Alex's cooperation he started again. "The information we received from the former Rocket members were documents that contained the plans for taking the Pokémon League headquarters in Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh in a three pronged attack of gigantic proportions. The plan however required timing and precision to be accomplished and most of all they relied on the element of surprise. It scares me to this day to think what may have happened if those plans had not been discovered. The Black Wall might just have succeeded had it not been for those three, but as it was the respective Elite Four teams were ready and more than prepared to fight back the attacks."

"So was my father lost in that fight then?" questioned Alex quietly dreading the answer.

"Hardly, Red and I fought alongside the Dragon Master and Bruno of the Elite Four. We formed a blockade around the entrance attacking with such ferocity no one could even get close enough to damage us." Brock replied chuckling to himself as he remembered the futility of the attack. "That battle was decidedly one sided as no amount of Black Wall grunts could ever hope to take control of Indigo Plato when the inhabitants were prepared for an attack. That battle however turned to the first glimmer of hope we had in this war. From there on we gathered that Maxie, Archie, and Cyrus began to start having doubts about the leadership abilities of Giovanni who had been up until that point the one calling most of the shots. This started the divide in the various sects of the Black Wall as each thought their leader was more fitting than the others."

"So this mighty organization was felled in one battle, is that what you're trying to say?" Alex asked skeptically.

"Not at all, if only that were the case, from then on we started several small groups consisting of the Elite Four and several gym leaders from each region to take back towns and open routes one by one until the Black Wall was forever gone. It was in Saffron City where we first encountered any major resistance and that was the last time I saw your father." Brock said with a sigh.

"What happened in Saffron?" Alex demanded impatiently. "did my father…" He said unable to finish.

"We were beginning a raid on the former Silph Corporation headquarters building where the Black Wall had set up their Kanto base of operations. Suddenly Lance got a message from Lt. Surge in Vermillion City about some sort of portal that had opened that required he and Red's assistance. They flew off and we finished the siege of the tower and arrested Giovanni two weeks later. I had hoped to see your father upon returning to Pallet Town but he wasn't here. I immediately flew to Indigo Plato to find out what had happened but Lance said only this and I quote .'We arrived in Vermillion City and a portal to another world had indeed been opened seemingly by a Pokémon of great power. We quarantined the area off and set up watches to make sure no one went in or out of the hole while we figured out what to do about it. Then one night on Red's watch it vanished but so had he.' That is all he told me he refused to elaborate more only telling me that the night Red disappeared he had been acting strange as if dreading something and had told him that should anything happen to him to have me not tell you until you were old enough to handle it."

"So that's it then my dad is just gone then? He just fucking vanished?" Alex snapped his anger starting to flare again. He had gotten his hopes up so high when he had heard his father was alive but this was no better!

"Alex you can think what you will but that is all I know. As I told you earlier there is only one man who truly knows where your father is and that is him." Brock said trying to cool Alex's temper. "But Lance did seem to know more than he was telling. If I were you I would consider asking him."

"Where can I find him?" Alex asked curtly.

"Well I imagine that his home in the Pokémon League would be a good place to look, but they won't let you just waltz up to him and start questioning him. Lance is a man that likes his privacy the only way you will get an audience with him is to earn a battle with him by competing in the yearly Indigo League Challenge. In order to do that you must start by collecting all the gym badges of the Kanto Region."

"Well I guess if that is the only way then I will have to take this challenge. Where do I start?"


	7. Chapter 7: Humble Beginnings

Chapter 7: Humble Beginnings

The sun was just coming up over the bay sending shimmering rays along its pristine surface towards the town of new beginnings. As Alex stood next to the water he thought about what Brock had told him the night before about his father. He hadn't been very clear but he had given Alex hope that he would eventually see him and again and that hope was enough motivation for Alex. He knew that his journey to the Pokémon League would not be short and that no part of it would be easy but he now had a solid goal. He had to see the Dragon Master and learn what had happened to his father in Vermillion City. With these thoughts in mind he turned from the bay and walked to the edge of town took one look back and turned his back on the only home he had ever known not with regret but with a new determination.

A half hour later Alex was on his way to Viridian City which according to his map was around a day's walk from Pallet Town and was home to an official Pokémon League Gym. As he walked he wondered what kind of Pokémon the Gym Leader would use and for that matter who was the Gym Leader? Brock had told him a little about the new Gyms but he had been in hiding for too long to know much about who was running the shows these days.

Alex was startled by how many Pokémon were running through the grass along the path he had never seen this many Pokémon anywhere in his life. There were Pidgeys flying through the trees and Rattatas running through the grass and occasionally there would be a Spearow or two pecking and the ground looking for seeds to eat. This is what he had been missing in Pallet Town this sense of freedom. But now it was time to get down to business, he only had his Magnemite and wanted to expand his team and a flying Pokémon would probably come very much in handy down the road but which one should he catch. He could go with a common Pidgey that would evolve in to a powerful Pidgeot or a less common Spearow that while fiercer would not have as much power upon evolution. Suddenly he saw something that made his decision for him. Out of the grass came a bird Pokémon usually only found in the Sinnoh region many miles away, a Starly immerged from the grass and started to caw at him as if trying to intimidate him. He knew at once that he had to capture this rare Pokémon and reached for his Pokeballs. Just as he was about to throw a ball he remembered Brocks talk of how a Pokémon becomes exponentially easier to catch if it has been weakened first.

"Go Magnemite, let's catch this one!" Alex exclaimed as he released his Pokémon. "Start off with a nice Sonic Boom attack!" Magnemite's magnets glowed white and a wave of energy was shot towards the Starly who nimbly dodged out of the way. It retaliated with a series of ferocious pecks that were of little use against its metal foe. "Alright then it looks like we have real fighter on our hands" Alex observed with approval that he would be getting such a good Pokémon if he managed to catch it. "Let's see how it deals with lightning, use Thundershock!"

Streaks of yellow lightning sprang from Magnemite and hit the avian Pokémon full force lifting it off the ground. The Starly appeared to be disorientated and Alex used this time to throw a Pokeball to capture it. The ball rolled on the ground a few times while the Pokémon struggled but eventually the circle on its front flashed red signaling the first successful capture of Alex's training career.

"That was rather impressive." A girl's voice came from in front of Alex who had been preoccupied storing the newest addition to his team. She was around Alex's age but much shorter than him only coming up to his shoulder. Her hair was a light shade of brown that matched the mid thigh length shorts she was wearing and went down to her shoulders where it met her leaf green t-shirt. Her brown eyes were focused on the Pokeball that he held in his hand that contained his Magnemite. "I would like to have a battle if that is ok with you?" she asked politely.

"I only have one Pokémon that is in any shape to battle but if a one on one contest is ok with you then I don't see how that would be a problem." Alex answered slightly surprised by her quick entrance and mix of boldness and manners. "Though I would like to know who it is that I am being challenged by."

"Oh I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Victoria Evans from Viridian City I was on my way back from Pallet Town where I was observing a tournament. I was merely resting here in the grass when you caught that Starly. I was impressed by how well you did on your first try."

"Wait you were at the tournament? Then you saw me win right, and you still want to challenge me?" Alex said with more than a hint of cockiness.

"Yes I think I will be fine, I do not feel I need to reconsider my request. I would advise you however I am no mere beginner like those you faced in Pallet Town so it would be wise of you to not get too swelled a head."

"Alright well then here goes. Go Magnemite!" Alex exclaimed as he released the electric Pokémon.

"Very well then Cubone I think you can handle this one." Victoria said as she released a brown lizard like Pokémon that stood on its hind legs. On its head it wore a skull that seemed to serve as a helmet to protect its head, in it right hand it held a dangerous looking club made of what appeared to be a leg bone. Fortunately the creature though intimidating was only a foot in height but still managed to look like it could do some damage." You may have the first move if you wish"

"Alright Magnemite let's show this thing what electricity can do, use Thundershock!" Magnemite charged itself up and unleashed a steady stream of energy on the Cubone but it was to no avail as it simply stood in place looking up at Magnemite with indifference.

"You seem unaware so I will inform you; Cubone is a ground type Pokémon and is therefore not affected by electric attacks." Victoria explained knowingly. "Now use Boneclub, hit it right on the head!" Cubone jumped up and delivered a hard blow with its club straight on the screw that stuck up from the magnet Pokémon's head. This super effective ground move sent Magnemite spinning and left it dizzy and seemingly afraid of receiving another blow.

"I should have recognized Cubone was a ground type, which was my fault, but let's redeem ourselves with a Sonic Boom!' Magnemite sent shock waves hurtling toward its skull capped foe driving it backwards into a defensive position."Now while its preoccupied use Magnetbomb!" The silver ball hurled the steel fighter slammed into Cubone but aside from distancing it from Magnemite did not seem to affect the bone wielding lizard much.

"Quick knock him off balance with a Headbutt!" this time however it was Magnemite's turn to be unharmed as Cubone simply bounced of its gleaming steel armor. "It seems I was the one to quick to make a decision that time, but it will not happen again. Cubone use Boneclub!"

"Magnemite dodge you can't take another hit like that!" before Magnemite could dodge however the Cubone was almost on top of it but at the last second it seemed to get distracted by the glare reflecting from its foes steal surface. Instead of landing a crippling blow its bone hammer missed completely smashing into the ground next to Magnemite.

"Here's our chance, use a Sonic Boom now!" The shock waves hit Cubone Square in the skull and it toppled over all but defeated. However the battle was not over yet as Victoria gave one final command.

"Cubone now while he thinks he's won hit it with another Boneclub.' Instantly the ground fighter yanked its bone from the dirt and used it to deliver an uppercut that hit Magnemite with a loud clang. Magnemite toppled over defeated and Alex had lost his first match.

"What? We lost?" Alex said still not believing it. He had thought for sure that Cubone had been finished after seeing the direct hit Sonic Boom had scored.

"Well it was your first match outside of your hometown after all. You did quite well to overcome such a heavy type disadvantage." Encouraged Victoria sincerely. "But this battle proved to me I am ready to take on the Gym in Pewter City so I will bid you a good day."

"Wait isn't there a gym in Viridian? Why not stop there first?" Asked Alex not understanding why she would skip such an important challenge.

"That gym was once home to Giovanni, then he left and another trainer by the name of blue occupied it for a time but no one has been there since the Black Wall came to power. So the closest gym is in Pewter but you will have to make it through the Viridian Forrest first." She shuddered a bit at the mention of the woods that formed a border between the two towns as if she found the very idea distasteful. "So once again I bid you good day and wish you good luck." With this she turned on her heel and left Alex to wonder what awaited him in Viridian City and the world beyond.


	8. Chapter 8: The Tale of Blue

Chapter 8: The Tale of Blue

Night had almost fallen over route 1 as Alex made his way into Viridian City tired and weary from his travel. His loss to Victoria had left him mentally drained and his Pokémon sapped of all strength. Because they could not protect him in the state they were in should he run into trouble he had been forced to run from several territorial Rattatas and one particularly vicious Pidgey. As he dragged himself along the streets he cursed his shortsightedness, while he had remembered food and water for him and his Pokémon he lacked medical supplies a mistake that betrayed just how new he was to this game.

After an hour of walking the streets he finally found the Pokémon Center, a white building with its trademark red roof and large frontal windows. Inside he could see the treatment machines that were standard throughout the four regions and upon this sight he almost fell to his knees in relief. He knew there was a Pokémon Center in almost every town but Viridian City was bigger than Pallet Town and he had gotten lost a few times and wondered if he would ever find this safe haven for trainers.

Then moment he walked through Alex was greeted by a Nurse with vibrant pink hair and a wide smile accompanied by a Chansey. She took Alex's Pokeballs and gave them to her Chansey who took them to the machine and started the healing process. The nurse who shared the name Joy with her many sisters across the Pokémon world gave Alex his room key and showed him the correct hall to get to his room.

"I hope you enjoy your stay, and remember you are welcome to stay as long as you need." Joy said with a smile and a wave to Alex as he entered his room. The room was not overly large but it was fairly comfortable. In the center of the room was a medium sized bed that Alex immediately fell upon and was asleep within seconds.

Hours later Alex awoke to every part of his body aching but overall he was well rested and ready to begin exploring Viridian City. He had heard that the entrance to Victory Road, the grueling path to the Pokémon League, was only a stone's throw from the City and he still wanted to visit the Viridian City gym regardless of what Victoria had said to him about it being an abandoned shell.

Alex headed out to the main lobby to collect his Pokémon from the nurses noticing for the first time the size of the center. It was not an overly large place but it was fairly sizable with a sitting area on one side and the healing apparatuses on the other. There were large bay windows that gave its occupants a rather nice view of the city and route 22 beyond it.

"Excuse me sir, but I believe these Pokémon belong to you." Said Nurse Joy as she came around to where he was standing holding a tray with the Pokeballs containing his Pokémon on it. He accepted them from her gratefully and thanked her. "I assure you it is no problem at all that is why we are here after all. Now I do need to know will you be staying here the night or will you be moving on?"

"I think I will be moving on so here is my room key." He answered

"Very well we hope you enjoyed your visit and hope to see you again." She replied with a smile and turned back towards the healing center to look after the other Pokémon that had been brought in.

"Hey look guys its some new blood." Somebody said their voice coming from the lounge area. Alex turned around to see a group of around five teenage boys huddled around a man whom appeared to be around his age. "You, where are you from?" The man demanded of Alex.

"My name is Alex Cheval I'm from Pallet Town." Alex responded more than a little put off by this man's overbearing attitude. "Who are you?"

"Dammit, never mind guys it's just another country boy from that joke of a town Pallet." This was met with snickers from his posse though the strange man himself simply looked bored.

"What do you mean that joke town? Who do you think you are?" Alex asked his temper rising at this man's unreasonable attitude and arrogance.

"Names Taylor Ride, I run this town there ain't anyone better than me. And to answer your question there hasn't been a decent trainer to come out of pallet since Red and Blue but that was before my time."

"Red was my father and I won't sit down and take your nonsense I demand a battle with you."

"Oh is that so? Well if you want a battle then I think I can accommodate you but be warned I'm so far out of your league it won't last more than five minutes just be prepared to be visiting this place a for a few more days after." He said gesturing around to the Pokémon Center. "Meet me at the base of Victory Road in an hour and I will show you what how to really raise a Pokémon."

After making these comments he left with his gang and headed west towards route 22 where the specified battle ground would be. Alex wasted no time following him out the door but instead of going directly to meet Taylor he decided to go to see the old gym.

Once regarded as the toughest gym in the Kanto region occupied by former champion Blue and even Rocket turned Black Wall Leader Giovanni the Viridian City gym laid in ruins. It was isolated away from the rest of the town and sat on its own hill like a relic from a time long passed. As Alex stood near it looking through its broken windows into the dark confines of a forgotten battlefield he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to this place that had once held some of the toughest trainers outside of the Elite Four.

Then Without warning an old man crept up next to him seemingly materializing out of thin air. Alex startled jumped backwards away from the window and starred at him. He was a very old man but looked as though he may have been an intimidating figure in his time. His back was scrunched up and his skin wrinkled. The man wore a black robe and looked at him with a tired face that had seen much in its time. His eyes were cloudy white and when he spoke it was in a raspy tone Alex could hardly identify.

"Do you know who used to lead this gym son?" he asked

"Yes sir. I believe it was Blue former league champion." Alex replied nervously

"Ah you are educated then." The old man said "Ah but what became of this once noble place. That is a story I know all too well and I can tell you if you do have the time."

"Uh sure I'll listen." Alex replied cautiously adding "But may I ask who you are first?"

"My name is not important young man what is important is that you hear my words and learn from the lesson they have to teach." And before Alex could stop him he continued on with his story. "This place used to be home to Blue the disgraced but still powerful former League Champion. He stood by this gym and this city through even the fiercest of attacks by the Black Wall. But his downfall was not found in his weakness in battle but rather by his thirst for revenge, because he never forgot the position he used to hold in the League. He was only champion a few short days before Red Cheval an old rival of his knocked him off of his perch as champion."

"Wait did you just say Red Cheval? That's my father I'm his son Alex Cheval! No one ever told me he was Pokémon League Champion!"

"So you are his child then…" The old man trailed off, but for a second Alex thought he saw a flash of emotion show in his eyes that instantly disappeared. "That matters little for it is not his story I am here to tell. Blue defended this town for years until one day along came a spider, a man with seemingly no conscience and for whom the ends always justified the means. He convinced Blue that Blue's own vendetta was far more important than the safety of the town and that the League would protect Viridian anyway. That spider's name was Giovanni and when blue left to find Red and seek his revenge the Black Wall stormed the town destroyed this gym and launched their failed attack of the Pokémon League.

Eventually Blue realized what a mistake he had made but by that point it was far too late for him to return to the city he had abandoned. He realized had it not been for deserters of the Black Wall the League could have fallen and plunged the world into chaos, all because he could not let a lost fight go. He went to the League where he found Red and apologized and when he left he was never seen or heard from again. Remember this tail of the man who had it all but was too blind to see it. Remember Blue!" With this last comment the old man disappeared as quickly as he had come leaving Alex with much to consider.


	9. Chapter 9: Battle at the Base

Chapter 9: Battle at the Base

The journey along Route 22 was not a long or over taxing one and seemed to be designed for tourists wishing to see Victory Road as much as it was for the trainers themselves. There were a few patches of grass and a ledge Alex had to lower himself over and towards the end of the Route there was a small pond in which many water Pokémon were found. Standing on the other side of the pond was a Taylor who appeared bored even though his whole gang was with him demanding his attention.

"Alex decided to have a look around before challenging his new foe wanting to explore the battleground before starting. As he started to examine the area Taylor's gang started to make excited noises, Alex thinking they were reacting to his presence ignored the group and went back to finding strategic ways to use the field around him. He was just noting useful perches for Starly to use when he heard the cry of a small Pokémon. He looked around and to his disgust saw one of Taylor's gang members cornering a small blue dog like creature he recognized as a Mudkip.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you moron?' Alex asked his temper rising at seeing such wanton cruelty. "Leave that Mudkip alone!" The large brutish boy looked at him and shrugged returning to his prey. Just as Alex was about to call in Magnemite to teach to insolent boy a lesson Taylor stepped in.

"The country boy is right you fucking idiot. You should never torment a defenseless Pokémon." Taylor berated supporting Alex much to his surprise. "Now Alex I'm glad you could make it. May we begin?"

"If your grunts are done I'm as ready as you are." Alex replied still angry. "What are your rules?"

"This match will be a three on three battles with no substitutions." Seeing the look on Alex's downcast face he asked. "Do you even have three Pokémon? You don't do you?" he said with a smirk. Why don't you use that pathetic thing over there as a stand in for your third?" he suggested pointing towards the Mudkip.

"Alright. Fine I'll do it." Alex replied walking over towards the mud dog Pokémon. Taking his place he faced Taylor signaling that he was ready. He supposed that if it came down to it he might be able to use this small weak looking creature but would prefer not to have this battle come to that. "Go Starly!" He said wanting to see the abilities of his first catch.

"Very well then, Go Magby! Let's shoot this bird down!" Taylor shouted releasing a small Salamander with sharp claws and that stood on two legs. It was red in color and had a beak similar to a bird with a tail half the length of its body trailing behind it. As it was released it shot off a series of embers from its beak in an attempt to intimidate Starly. The trick did not seem to be effective however as Starly simply looked down at its wings and started to pick out loose feathers not acknowledging the ember spewing Pokémon before it.

"Starly take out some of Magby's cockiness with Quick Attack!" Alex ordered. In an instant the Bird went from grooming its self to attack mode speeding across the field in a blur to slam into its foe with considerable force. The blow sent Magby reeling, hurt but far from defeated.

"Damn that is one fast bird!" Taylor remarked looking surprised but still confident. "Use Ember and send him down in flames!" Magby obliged and spewed a burst of small fire balls from its mouth at Starly which singed its left wing forcing it to land. Even though Starly had temporarily lost its ability to fly and was far less agile the avian creature never seemed to show any emotion. Alex realized this helped him because it would not betray how badly damaged Starly was to Taylor but this stoicism was a double edged sword in that he could not tell either making it impossible to know what to ask of the stone faced fighter.

"Use Wing Attack to cool this lizard down!" Alex said a plan forming in his mind as Starly's non injured wing glew white. Now catapult yourself from a branch straight into its stomach!" As Starly executed a perfect dive bomb and finished with a flurry of smacks to Magby's face Alex realized how lucky he was to have the rare bird as an ally and teammate.

Magby fell to the ground and attempted to rise again but simply collapsed in a slightly smoldering heap. Starly made no celebratory movements or sounds and simply stared ahead as if preparing its self for the next challenge. Taylor grudgingly returned Magby muttering to himself foreign Pokémon.

"You may have gotten lucky against my weakest Pokémon but Metapod will set you straight!" Taylor yelled, releasing his second Pokémon, trying to keep up his bravado for his gang but whom was obviously feeling the pressure. The bug Pokémon was shaped like a cocoon and was the evolution Caterpie the caterpillar Pokémon. "Defend yourself using Harden" Metapod secreted a film from small pores on its body that when introduced to air thickened to form a protective shell.

"Starly before he builds up any more of a shield use Wing Attack!" The small bird struck its target which rolled across the ground in apparent pain.

"Metapod use Tackle!" The bug launched its self across the battle ground slowly but to no avail as Starly easily dodged. Using the momentum from the dodge Starly put its self in position behind the Metapod and struck without command with a wing attack. The suddenness of the attack sent Metapod flying but though it bounced a fair way across the ground it was resilient enough to keep conscious and ready to fight.

"Alright Starly excellent use of surprise! That is how a battle is won, through a keen sense of awareness and battle instinct!" Alex chided beginning to rub in his success. "Now don't let up we have this battle won! Use quick Attack but finish with a Wing Attack!" Starly performed the combination move to perfection becoming an invisible blur as it elegantly darted with lightning speed to its target and struck it forcefully with both of its brightly glowing wings. Metapod had endured all that it could and rolled slowly to its side eyes closed in defeat much to the ire of its trainer.

"No! You can't have defeated two of my Pokémon with only a bird!" Taylor Exclaimed now in full on desperation mode. "You all shut the hell up!" He shouted at his gang who were looking at each other as if to suggest their leader was not as good as he thought he was and muttering underneath their breathe to each other. "My next Pokémon will take down all three of your pathetic partners! Then you will all see who is the strongest here! You will all beg to be around me! Go Elekid!"

Alex did his best not to snicker as Taylor released what looked to be a giant yellow walking plug. The Pokémon has black stripes around its torso and nestled between these stripes and a pair of rods on its head was a small face with beady eyes. Attached to its body were two club like appendages that served as arms which Elekid whirled through the air menacingly.

"It's ok Starly you can take this thing down like its brethren! Use a Wing Attack" Alex encouraged Starly who though did not typically show emotion was starting to slip up in its stoicism and show its weariness from the two battles previously.

"Ha you idiot." Taylor said with a slight chuckle. "Elekid hit it with a Thundershock when it is exposed!" Elekid heeding the words of its master waited until Starly presented a target. As soon as Starly opened its wings for the attack Elekid released a jolt of electricity from its plug like crown. The shock sent Starly flying to the ground down for the count.

"That's alright you still defeated two of his three." Alex reasoned as he returned the injured tired bird to its Pokeball. He thought to himself that this Elekid looked like a powerful creature and was pondering how best to use Magnemite against it when he felt a nudge on his leg.

When he looked down the Mudkip he had protected was staring up at him with determination in its eyes. It looked at him as if to say it could handle this battle and with some reluctance Alex obliged.

"All right then let's see what you can do then, Go Mudkip!" Alex said with hope but also preparing to release his Magnemite if this ended badly.

"Ha another foolish move from the country boy" Taylor commented his gang behind him once more and his usual swagger returning. "sending a water type out against an electric type is a recipe for your defeat! Elekid use Thundershock to show him what a mistake battling me was!"

"Mudkip quick dodge you can't take a direct hit!" Alex instructed knowing that Taylor was probably right. But instead of moving Mudkip held its ground and faced the Thundershock unmoving and ostensibly not worried in the slightest. The attack hit it with brutal force but when the lightning subsided Mudkip stood unhurt. "Huh? Oh you must be part ground type." Alex said with realization. "In that case try to blind Elekid with a Mudslap!"

"Elekid dodge!" Taylor shouted his confidence once again failing him. Elekid gave it all its effort but could not quite manage to avoid the attack completely and took substantial damage. "Use Low Kick! Take out Mudkip's legs!" Elekid threw a heavy blow towards Mudkip's feet but used far too much momentum into the kick. Mudkip easily jumped over the blow and sent another Mudslap at the unbalanced Elekid who fell over on the ground unable to battle any further.

"No! You can't have won that's impossible!" Taylor yelled losing all of his dignity as his gang turned and left him standing there. "I'll show you! You have better be on your guard because the next time we meet I will destroy you!" And with that violent outburst he turned and ran back towards Viridian City.

"Well That was quite the outburst now wasn't it?" A man dressed in a blue uniform commented. Alex just noticed his presence though from the way he was standing it appeared he had been there for the whole battle. "Now that was one fine show from you lad, keep that up and you might be able to actually take the journey up this path" As he talked he indicated the building behind him which was situated in front of a wide hole on the side of Indigo Plato. The Plato was a towering structure on which The Pokémon League headquarters resided, the cave in question was Victory Road the harrowing final test for trainers before they began the Pokémon League Championship Tournament.

"That is what I am working for." Alex replied "Do you guard the entrance to the cave?"

"I sure do that trainer you fought and his friends were trying to get me to let them up with no badges. There is no way they would have survived to get to the top. The dangers in that cave are far beyond your average trainer's abilities. So come back here when you have all 8 badges and I will gladly let you pass." With these remarks he turned and went back to his post outside the outpost.

Alex looked down at the small blue creature at his feet that was looking at him like he expectantly.

"Do you want to come with me?" Alex asked Mudkip who seemed to understand and answered by barking happily and shooing a stream of water into the air. "Alright then let's go heal up at the Pokémon Center and head towards Viridian Forrest!"


	10. Chapter 10: The Bug Brigade

Chapter 10: The Bug Brigade

The sun was just hitting its peak when Alex finally started out for Viridian Forest. He had been delayed from leaving after his battle with Taylor because he wanted to make sure all his Pokémon partners were healthy, especially Starly who had taken quite a shock from Taylor's Elekid. While waiting on his Pokémon he had been discussing his adventure with some of the other travelers in the Pokémon Center. All of them seemed to agree that if he were to go to Viridian Forest that he should bring plenty of Antidotes as the forest was literally crawling with poisonous bug type Pokémon.

The walk towards the forest was not a long one as Viridian Forest rested about a half mile outside the town it took its name from. Though short the walk was mostly up hill and therefore took a while longer than intended so Alex decided to have a break before entering the woods.

All of a sudden two young trainers came running from the main path of the woods terror on their faces. The trainers looked to be around twelve a boy and a girl. The boy was tall, very tan and dressed head to toe in a bug catcher's uniform. The girl was dressed similarly but was of normal height and unlike her friend blonde hair could be seen from underneath her brimmed hat with bug shield attached.

"What happened to you guys?" Alex asked startled by their sudden appearance "You look like you just saw a ghost." The two looked at each other and the boy spoke in a small voice obviously still shaken up.

"It was the Warriors of the Woods. They took our Pokémon." He said with a shudder

"Who is that?" Alex questioned confused. Judging by the looks on the duo's faces they were just as surprised he did not know who they were referring to as he was that a group called the Warriors of the Woods could inspire this much fear. "And why did they take your Pokémon?"

"They're a group of really tough trainers who demand a toll to go through the woods." The girl replied in a voice barely above a whimper. "We didn't have the money so we tried to sneak by. But their bug Pokémon spotted us and they caught us."

"So they took your Pokémon because you wouldn't pay them, is that right?" After receiving nods indicating that this was what had happened. "Ok I tell you what I am going to go in there and have a talk with them and I think you'll find that they will be more than willing to return your Pokémon." Alex reassured them with a mischievous grin.

"You would do that for strangers?" the girls asked in amazement

"Sure I would." Alex responded thinking to himself of how to best handle these bullies. From what the bug catchers had said they had bug Pokémon which meant if it came to a battle this would be a good place for Starly or Magnemite to get some good practice for the next gym. "Now show me where these 'Warriors' are."

"They have a hideout in the back of the woods where they usually go to fight each other." The boy said finally speaking up again. "But there is something else we forgot to tell you."

"Oh yeah what's that" Alex said hoping for some sort of insight into where exactly the back of the woods was.

"After they took our Pokémon a girl showed up and demanded they give them back. But then they surrounded her and we got scared and ran away." The shorter of the two explained.

Alex wondered who they meant by this but instead of continuing to waste his time talking to the children decided to go see what this was about for himself. So after reassuring them that he would get their Pokémon back he sprinted into the forest to look for the idiots that led to the ruin of his break time.

As soon as he was ten yards into the forest the sun seemed to turn down several notches and the temperature dropped several degrees. Everything around him seemed to be green and he could not tell if that was because of all the plants overgrown on every surface or if the light was taking on a green hue from the leafy canopy far above his head. Most of the trees in the forest looked ancient as if they had been there for many years, centuries even.

Almost everywhere he looked there were bug Pokémon. Caterpie and Weedle slithered through the brush and up trees. Groups of Metapod and Kakuna lay under trees guarded by swarms of Beedrill and solitary Butterfree. Alex had been warned of the Beedrill by the trainers in Viridian City, they had told him to never disrupt their nest least he incur their wrath. He was told that a swarm of Beedrill could overpower the mighty Dragonite if given enough incentive.

So deciding against angering the Beedrill Alex choose not to attempt to capture one of their young and instead kept up his search for the 'Warriors of the Woods'. He laughed to himself as he remembered the name. What kind of self-respecting gang would name themselves something like that it was so cliché.

As he pondered other better names for a gang Alex began to hear a buzzing sound. He looked around praying he had not upset a hive of Beedrill. After he got a good look towards the sound he saw that it was nothing more than a Heracross. Briefly he considered trying to catch it as it looked strong and could be a valuable asset to his team. But before he could act on these thoughts a figure jumped from the tree above him and walked towards the beetle Pokémon.

"Who are you and why are you trespassing in my woods?" The figure asked pointing to him as if to threaten him. He was wearing a black outfit not unlike that of a ninja and had a black headband around his forehead. Underneath this his hair was jet black and spiked up. He was not an imposing figure a foot shorter than Alex by Alex's own estimation. He spoke in a very quick and curt manner.

"Oh so you must be one of those warriors those two little kids were talking about. Yeah good thing you found me I've got a bone to pick with you." Alex replied casually. "You see they are rather upset and would really appreciate if you could return their Pokémon."

"What! Who do you think you are! These are my woods I will not be ordered around!"

"Yeah I'm sure, now if you will excuse me I'm going to go look for the rest of your buddies and see if they will be more accommodating." Alex said brushing off the ninja's remarks as he turned to walk away.

As he turned he heard the scream of a girl calling for help coming from the other side of a thicket of trees and ran over to investigate. As he rounded the corner a battle scene immerged, in the center of a circle of black clad figures stood none other than Victoria Evans, the trainer who had defeated him on Route 1, and her Cubone. They were surrounded on all sides by bug Pokémon and Cubone was doing all it could to keep them at bay.

Alex rushed over to her side and sent out his Magnemite prepared to defeat a horde of Caterpie and Weedle. This proved unnecessary as the Heracross and its master whom he had spoken to earlier walked over to the group and a hushed silence fell among the ranks of the woodland gang.

"Now I have you surrounded and you have to listen to me!" the small man said excitedly

"No, actually I don't I think I'm fully prepared to take on these punks." Alex replied defiantly gesturing to the crowd around him. Victoria shot him a look as if to ask him what he was doing but he ignored it. "In fact I think I have a deal for you. You let us go and give me back those kids Pokémon and I don't send you all home crying." Obviously offended by Alex's complete lack of respect for the position he was in the leader of the group grew furious and began to yell at Alex.

"These are My Woods! My Woods do you understand!" He Screamed his voice shaking "If you want to pass you must pay a toll or deal with the consequences."

"Which are what exactly?" Alex asked as if bored by the whole affair.

"You will have to face me and my mighty Heracross in a one-on-one Battle!" He screamed completely out of control at this point. "And We WILL DESTROY YOU!"

Alex replied cheerfully "But if I win then you have to return the Pokémon you stole."

"That will never happen!" The fake ninja said with conviction "Now prepare to taste defeat!" And with this last threat his Heracross jumped to his side ready to fight.

"Alright Starly let's do this!" Alex cried "Use a Quick Wing combo." Starly used its combination of Quick Attack and Wing Attack it had learned last battle to swoop around behind Heracross and landed a direct shot. Unfortunately it hit Heracross's armor and though the attack overbalanced Heracross and caused it to flip it sustained no real damage.

"Alright Heracross use Fury Attack!" Shouted the tiniest ninja of all

"Starly dodge!" Starly managed to dodge around as Heracross threw punches scratched and swung its horn in a frenzy. "Keep it up let it tire its self out."

"Now Heracross use Horn Attack!" The bug Pokémon stopped mid punch and with its horn glowing swung its head up catching Starly with a blow to the stomach. Starly fell to the ground and lay on its back in pain. "Now Tackle the puny bird and make sure it can't get up!"

"What! That's unnecessarily cruel!" Victoria complained loudly "there is no reason for that you jackass!" Alex however wasn't nearly as worried as she was and remained calm.

"Starly use Wing Attack on its unprotected stomach as it comes down!" Alex ordered knowing full well that Starly was not as hurt as he seemed to be. To everyone but Alex's surprise Starly sprung up and sent Heracross flying with a super effective attack. Heracross rolled in the bushes for a while unable to continue.

"What! No, impossible I can't have lost!" The Black dressed man cried "No matter seize them they can't take you all down!" He yelled to his minions. But when he turned around he found they had all scattered the moment he lost. With one look towards Alex he turned back towards Viridian City to return what he had stolen.

Alex turned to Victoria and asked her if she was alright. She said she was and that she was grateful for his help.

"Eh don't worry about it I hate bullies." He responded as they walked towards Pewter City "Had to deal with a hell of one back in Viridian."

"Oh really did you now and who was that I might ask." Victoria questioned nervously.

"His name was Taylor and he seemed to think that because I was from Pallet Town I would let him push me around."

"I was afraid you would say that. H has been a bit of a problem around town for a while now but he's getting a bit old for people to ignore it anymore. So how did you er, deal with him?"

"Pokémon battle. Beat him pretty easily and he didn't take very well, said he would get better then defeat me."

"You mean he left?" Victoria asked stopping to look at Alex "He left the city and his gang?"

"Yeah he did, a couple hours before I did actually." Alex replied as they continued their walking. "is that a big deal?"

"Are you kidding me? I've been trying to get him to go with me for years! I always thought that getting out of that city would do him some good. Well I'm glad that you got him to leave even if I couldn't."

"you're welcome I guess. I didn't realize it was such a big deal. Anyways it looks like the forest is thinning out up here are you staying at the Pokémon Center?"

"No actually I have family in Pewter so I will be with them during my stay. In fact they live right up there" She said pointing to a house just outside the forest. "So good luck on your gym fight and maybe I'll see you around." With that and a wave she walked towards the house and Alex turned the other way to pewter City and his first gym badge.


	11. Chapter 11: The Grindstone Gym

Chapter 11: The Grindstone Gym

Alex looked up at the mighty building that was in front of him with awe. He was standing in front of the Pewter City gym, former home of Brock. The building was three stories tall and at least that in width. Above the double glass doors that were the entrance to this enormous construction was the Indigo League Sign. The sign was a giant plaque that featured a Pokeball in the center surrounded by the eight Indigo League official badges. The doors themselves let no light escape much like the high windows that formed the front wall of the gym. Looking closer Alex saw that the glass was not colored but on the other side it seemed dirty as if someone had smeared dirt on it. There were patches of light that shined through but they were few and far between. After starring at the building in a few more minutes Alex got up his nerve and opened the door to his first challenge.

The first thing that hit him even before the doors were opened was the overwhelming smell. The inside of the gym had the smell of a tunnel deep underground, full of musk and wet dirt. After stepping into the gym proper the smell was the last thing on Alex's mind. Looking around he saw that there was no floor instead there was only dirt and the walls were covered from top to bottom in sheer rock. People stood in rings battling each other and few were climbing the walls.

"Excuse me sir, may I be of assistance?" A voice called out above the din. Alex searched for the source of the noise and his eyes came to rest upon a man standing next to the statue of a large rock Pokémon Alex knew as a Rhyperior. He was a rouged looking man who wore the standard dress of a coal miner including the flashlight hat. "I haven't seen you around here before so is it safe to say that this is your first visit? If it is then I will be glad to help you." He asked Alex extending his hand in greeting. Alex took his hand and shook it answering his question as he did so.

"Yes this is my first visit to Pewter City and this gym who are you?" Alex asked

"Oh don't worry about me I'm just the caretaker. I take care of all the trainers that pass through here." The caretaker responded with a smile releasing Alex's hand from his grip.

"Ok, well then I trust that you will lead me to the Leader of this gym then?"

"Oh indeed I will, but first let me tell you a bit about what to expect here. As you are probably aware by magnificent surroundings and the trainers you see doing battle this we in Pewter specialize in the rock type Pokémon." He explained while gesturing around at the walls and trainers in turn. "Now as I understand it you wish to challenge our Leader Forrest. In order to do so you will need to complete a trainer assessment as not only your Pokémon will be worked out in this gym."

"Ok and how do I complete this assessment?" Alex questioned growing frustrated of waiting.

"It is a rather simple task if you will follow me I will show you." The caretaker lead Alex to the center of the gym was a giant pyramid sat that went all the way up to the roof. On its sides were very steep stairs that led to the summit. Along the sides of the stairs and through the middle were ropes that went from the top of the structure to its base. As Alex looked up from the bottom the top seemed miles away and looked to be an impossible goal.

"So do I have to climb this pyramid to battle?" He asked timidly

"Not at all my friend. I could have Forrest come down here to do battle with you at a cost."

"What is the cost?" Alex asked intrigued at the possibility of not have to climb this colossal rock. He would gladly pay his earnings from the tournament in Pellet to avoid this task.

"The cost is not one of monetary value it is that you will be limited to using two Pokémon in your gym battle and forfeit your right to substitutions." The caretaker responded cheerfully

Without a word Alex grabbed a rope and began to scale the pyramid. The hard work that this would take was nothing next to the sacrifice he would have to make to bypass it. He was followed up by the caretaker who informed him as they climbed that he also served as the judge for all official Indigo League battles in the gym. What seemed like an eternity later Alex reached the top, his muscles burning from the effort of lifting himself up each of the tall steps.

He looked around for the gym leader and was surprised at the figure that was waiting for him. He was not the large, burly man Alex had expected to be the master of a rock oriented gym but at the same time neither did he fit the profile of a rare rock collector who spent his free time searching for stones of great value. He was a tall man and there was something familiar about his dark brown hair and small brown eyes. When he spoke it was in a gravelly voice that sounded very familiar indeed.

"Hello stranger my name is Forrest and I run this gym. I understand that you with to challenge me for a Boulder Badge." Forrest said to Alex in a blunt manner.

"You are correct and after that climb I'm ready for a good match! I only have one question, when did you become gym leader?" Alex asked forming a theory.

"I gained control of this gym eight years ago after the gyms were reinstated. Why do you ask this question of me?"

"Did you happen to know the leader that was in charge of this gym before you?"

"Yes I did, he was my brother his name is Brock."

"I knew there was something familiar about you!" Alex exclaimed his theory confirmed "You're Brock's brother!"

"Yes I just said that did I not?" Forrest said not understanding why this man was so interested in his past. "Now that that is done with we will start this battle. The rules are three Pokémon each, the challenger may substitute at any time but I am prohibited from doing so. Do you agree to these terms?"

"That sounds like a fair enough set of rules." Alex replied simply

"If both parties are satisfied let the match begin!" The caretaker said as he blew his whistle to start the match.

The moment his whistle sounded the noise in the gym stopped. All the trainers turned to look towards the wall closest to them where openings had appeared in the rocks and gigantic T.V. screens had taken their place. On the screen were Alex and Forrest Standing across from each other facing off on a rectangle Battlefield divided by white lines with a tall sharp rock at the point of every outside corner.

"Go Geodude!" Forrest yelled as he released his first Pokémon. The rocky Pokémon popped out of its ball with the same stern expression as its trainer.

"Go Magnemite!" Alex yelled releasing his first fighter and drawing disapproving murmurs from the crowd. While Mudkip may have been a better choice in this situation he knew from previous experiences that Magnemite was more than capable of handling a Geodude.

"Geodude use Mudslap!"

"We're prepared for that, Magnemite Thundershock the mud away!" Much like when he had faced off against Brock the maneuver worked to perfection. "Now use Magnet Bomb and let's show these people we know what we're doing!" Alex experienced a sense of Déjà vu as the Electric Pokémon charged and released its ball of steel energy on its craggy foe. In an almost perfectly reenacted scene Geodude flew across the floor landing unconscious at Forrest's feet. Unflustered by the quick defeat of his first Pokémon Forrest returned his Geodude and pocketed the Pokeball. He grabbed the next one from his belt and threw it into the field of battle.

"Go Shieldon!" He shouted releasing a small dinosaur like Pokémon that stood on four legs and had a wide face covered in what looked like a steel shield with slits for its eyes and nostrils. "Use Dig!"

The small creature burrowed its way underneath the ground and disappeared from sight. Magnemite looked confused and turned around several times looking for the Pokémon who had all but vanished. Undeterred by the turn of events Alex instructed his Pokémon.

"Use a Magnet Bomb into the hole and flush him out!" The magnet Pokémon again formed a ball of steel energy and did as its trainer commanded it shooting it down the hole like a homing missile towards its target. Alex looked over to Forrest expecting his normal blank look but was completely shocked to find a small smile had appeared on the Gym Leader's face.

"Now Shieldon, use the boost from the Magnet Bomb to burst out of the ground and blindside Magnemite!" Commanded Forrest his smile widening. Shieldon propelled by Magnemite's attack exploded out of the ground like a bullet and struck Magnemite in the back sending it flying out of the battle field.

"Magnemite has left the battle field and is disqualified." The Caretaker ruled

Alex realized his mistake in thinking Shieldon was only rock type wincing at his stupidity in forgetting that it shared steel qualities with Magnemite. However he was determined to win this battle and chose his next Pokémon.

"Go Mudkip!" He said releasing the small water Pokémon with a feeling of uneasiness. "Use Water Gun!"

The small blue Pokémon sprayed water from its mouth in a short bust towards the mini dinosaur. The reaction from the Shieldon was as Alex had hoped as it jumped back in apparent pain.

"Now use Mudslap!" Alex yelled playing off of Shieldon's double weakness to ground due to its double typing of rock and steel.

Unlike Magnemite who could use electricity to break the attack Shieldon took the blast full on and fell over unconscious and unable to continue. Forrest returned his second Pokémon looking shocked to have been defeated by such a small foe. Reaching for the last Pokeball on his belt he looked even more determined than before to defend his reputation from this challenger.

"Go Onix!" Forrest said a note triumph in his voice as the monstrous rock snake towered over Alex's Mudkip. "Onix take care of this pest and use Bind!"

The small water Pokémon tried to flee but found no escape from the serpent of stone and its grinding coils. Just as it seemed Mudkip could not take any more of the attack it shot out of its foe's stony grip. Alex was momentarily confused before seeing the slime that had accumulated on Mudkip's body. Onix had lost its grip and was just then realizing its victim had escaped.

"Fine it seems luck is on their side." Forrest said contemplating his next move as Alex bided his time already predicting the rock master's next move. "Use Dig and send this weak creature flying!"

Onix dug into the ground with a gusto causing the substantially sized pyramid to shake. Mudkip did not react as Magnemite had and instead looked towards Alex for instruction. This had been what Alex had hoped Forrest would do and was prepared for the situation.

"Mudkip use Water Gun on the ground and in the hole. Let's turn this place into a bog!" The move worked to perfection and the battle field transformed into a marshy mess. Suddenly Onix shot up through the mud to attack Mudkip but on its way up became stuck in the sinkhole the field had been turned into. As it struggled to free its self Onix lost more and more energy until it no longer had the will to fight and Forrest returned it.

"That was a genius move. I wish you good luck with your journey." Said Forrest handing Alex the Boulder Badge. Alex stared at the gem shaped badge for a moment then placed it in the first spot of him badge case. When he looked up Forrest was standing by the edge of the pyramid looking out over his gym. Alex made a move to walk towards him but the caretaker tapped his shoulder and shook his head indicating that Alex should leave now that he had accomplished his goal.

As Alex left the gym full of pride in his accomplishment he turned his attention to his map locating the next stop on his quest. It was Cerulean City on the other side of Mt. Moon. Mt. Moon was said to be the home of rare Pokémon named Clefairy and home too many other secrets as well. Alex put the map away and continued on his way ready for the next challenge that he faced.

Authors Note

I have decided that I will not use Misty in Cerulean City and need an OC character for the gym leader or a possible replacement from the show.

In addition I have been inspired to add Trivia to the end of my stories by whose chronicles of fate story has taken my interest as of late.

So here it is in Chapter 8: The Tale of Blue there was a quote from a movie thrown into the dialogue at some point. Hint the movie stars a revolutionary man whose persona is taken from a man who died long before himself and whose name contains but one letter. Find the quote and post it with you ideas first come first served.


	12. Chapter 12: The Dark Side of Mt Moon P1

Chapter 12: The Dark Side of Mt. Moon Part 1

Alex had just exited the Pokémon Center in Pewter City and was feeling refreshed after a tough battle in the Pewter City Gym that resulted in his newly acquired Boulder Badge. His next stop was Cerulean City but in his way was Mt. Moon. As Alex walked towards the edge of town he noticed a large burned down building to the north. Upon closer inspection he found that the building was fenced in and the gates were bolted shut. An old sign nearby read 'Pewter City Pokémon Museum'. The entrance was marked by tall pillars, once white marble now coated in ash. The front of the large structure was riddled with top to bottom thin glass windows, thought they may have once been elegant and magnificent but now they were all broken. The second floor had caved in completely leaving the building looking as if it had been hit by a meteorite similar to the ones in its confines. Alex realized that this must be the old site of Kanto's once legendary fossil and space rock exhibits.

A plaque on the gate read 'Danger Structure Insecure May Collapse Without Warning Keep Out!". Looking once again at the fire scared building Alex remembered hearing stories about how the Black Wall had burned places of learning and destroyed local treasures, such as the infamous Fuchsia City Fires which had resulted in the destruction of the beloved safari zone, in order to demoralize the people and make revolts less likely.

Looking upon the charred remains of a once bright and vibrant building stirred anger in the pit of Alex's stomach at the thugs who had destroyed it for reasons driven by evil and greed. For the first time Alex understood what had caused his father to leave him and his mother to fight these cretins. Standing there looking at the remains of the museum Alex vowed to himself that if he ever met any of the remnants of the Black Wall Brock had warned him about that they would pay for the atrocities they had committed.

Turning away from the sight Alex continued down the path towards Route 3 and beyond that Mt. Moon. His anger dissipated the further he got from the museum but he did not retract his vow of vengeance.

He soon arrived at the edge of town and though he was eager to begin his trek to cerulean the sun was already sinking below the horizon. Alex decided that he would stay in the Pokecenter at the base of the mountain and continue the next day.

On his journey along Route 3 Alex was struck by how quiet everything was. There were no Pokémon out and about no Pidgeys or Spearows singing their evening songs. He didn't see even a single Rattata, a Pokémon known for its nighttime scavenging. All of this intrigued him but he didn't put much thought into and kept going on his way.

The sun was completely set by the time he reached the foot of Mt. Moon as he had predicted it would be. Instead of risking a nighttime venture into a mysterious cave Alex decided to stick to his original plan and rent a room at the Pokémon Center for the night.

He was greeted as always by a smiling Nurse Joy who took his Pokémon to the back room to be healed. She was soon back with his Pokémon, a room key, and a few words of advice.

"You're a smart one." She told Alex "Many trainers who come through here underestimate the dangers of the mountain and end up lost and out of energy. It is a much wiser decision to wait until morning to cross. Your room is the last one on the left please have a good night." She said with a smile and a small bow before walking away.

A few minutes later Alex was in his room preparing for bed when movement outside his window caught his eye. His window overlooked the entrance to the tunnel through the mountain and the movement he had seen was a trainer approaching the dark opening in the rocks. He turned away thinking to himself that whoever it was, was an idiot and that he would never chance what they were doing.

Suddenly a shriek pierced his thoughts and he rushed to the window to see what was going on. A group of dark clothed men had jumped from the shadows and were dragging the female trainer he had laughed at into the cave. She was no match for the large men and offered no resistance as she was dragged towards whatever fate they intended for her.

Alex felt his blood boil at the sight of this villainy and ran over to where he had placed his clothes and Pokeballs. Half-dressed and backpack in hand he flew out of the Pokémon Center and without any regard for his own safety or an acknowledgement to those waved after him and told him to stop he plunged into the darkness of Mt. Moon.

As soon as he stepped foot into the cave he felt the temperature drop significantly and he realized he couldn't see a thing. He released his Magnemite to help him find his way about.

"Magnemite do think you can give me some light?" Alex asked hopefully. Magnemite responded by crackling electricity from the magnets on either side of its round body. The yellow light cast by Magnemite revealed a wall strung with many lights but none of them seemed to be operational.

Curious Alex investigated one of them further and found that the power cord they were attached to was disconnected. The cut was uneven as if rather than a blade someone had torn the wires apart.

"Magnemite direct your Thundershock into those wires." Alex instructed pointing out the exposed copper. Immediately the cave lit up and Alex could just make out shadows retreating further into the cave. He returned Magnemite and continued to delve deeper into the heart of the mountain following the footsteps of the shadowy figure he had been following.

A short run later and Alex found himself at the foot of a ladder leading to an upper level of the cave. He was about to climb up and continue his pursuit but he heard a muffled cry coming from the shadows that weren't covered by the lighting. Cautiously he walked over towards the sound wary that this may be a trap laid by those he was pursuing.

As he got closer to the sound a figure appeared in front of him bound and gagged. He kneeled down still not sure whether to trust the situation and saw it was the trainer he had seen dragged into the cave. Alex removed the gag and the girl exhaled heavily relieved to have been found. As he was untying her bonds she started to cry and shake with convulsions of emotion. After untying the last of the ropes that had bound her he looked more closely to see who it was he had rescued, it was Victoria Evans!

"What happened?" Alex asked concerned. Though he had only met her on a few occasions before she had always seemed very composed even when confronted and surrounded by the so called warriors of Viridian Forest.

"I w-w-was going t-t-to try to get through the m-m-mountain tonight so I could rest tomorrow b-b-before challenging Cerulean's gym." She managed to say through tears caused by the trauma of being kidnapped. "B-b-but those men took me and t-tied me up."

"Who were they?" Alex asked trying to be considerate but also furious that a gang of men would attack a lone woman or traveler of any kind for that matter.

"I d-don't know." Victoria said dissolving into a fit of tears. "But they stole my Pokémon!" Alex's fury jumped to levels he had not thought possible at this last comment and it took all the restraint he possessed to not leave Victoria where she was and go tearing off into the cave after the scum that had done this.

"Don't worry I'll help you get them back." Alex reassured her while helping her to her feet. "But right now let's go back to the Pokémon center and wait until morning to track down those thugs." Victoria simply nodded and took his hand as he pulled her up.

When they arrived at the center Nurse Joy was not wearing her usual smile and instead looked concerned upon seeing Victoria. She was not hurt seriously but she had many cuts and bruises and her clothes were torn from being thrown around by her abductors. After tending to her wounds the nurse motioned for Alex to come with her and led him to a back room. Sitting in the room was a police officer with a pen and a notepad looking very serious.

"Good evening son. Are you alright?" The officer asked in a gruff voice.

"Yes I'm fine Victoria is the one who was taken." Alex responded as polite as he could.

"Good glad to see you aren't hurt but I am sorry to hear about your friend is she alright?"

"Yes sir she's fine. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"My name is Officer Swanson. First of all I want to tell you what you did was very brave that girl may very well owe you her life." Officer Swanson said registering the shock on Alex's face. "Yes I am serious when I say that. Those are very dangerous men, they live on the mountain and steal the Pokémon of trainers that walk though and we have had more than a few of their victims disappear."

"Who are they?" Alex asked eager to know who he was up against.

"We don't know for certain but they call themselves the moonmen and they generally prey on the weak and the isolated. I have my own beliefs about who they really are but no sadly no evidence."

"Who do you think they are?" Alex questioned

"I personally believe that they are some of the former members of a disbanded crime syndicate. Have you ever heard of the Black Wall son?"

"Yes I have and if those were former members then I will hunt them down and make them regret even crossing my path." Alex said determination in his eyes.

"Don't even think about it boy." Officer Swanson said "You don't know what they are capable of. I'm surprised you and your friend out there got out of that cave alive, leave the criminals to the police." Alex simply nodded and looked away contemplating his next move.

"I understand sir. Is there anything else you want from me or am I free to go to my room?"

"No I don't have anything else to ask you, you may leave." He said but added as Alex walked out the door. "I'm serious these are some sick people we're dealing with they are not the kind of folks to be trifled with just let me do my job."

Alex went to his room already thinking of a plan to lure the gang out of their hiding place in the mountain. When he reached the door he found it locked and frowned. Using his key he entered the room and found Victoria asleep on the bed, grabbing his belongings he left the room as quietly as possible but she awoke anyway.

"Sorry for waking you I'll go find somewhere else to sleep." He said ducking back through the doorway but was stopped by Victoria.

"No it's ok there's room on the bed." She said groggily obviously worn out from her experience.

"Are you sure." He asked tentatively not looking forward to sleeping on the couches in the lounge.

"I think the least I can do for the man who saved me is not completely ruin his night." She said collapsing back into the bed.

The next morning Alex woke early and tried to leave without disturbing her but was once again unsuccessful.

"You sure are a light sleeper." He commented as she got out of bed still wearing the torn clothes from the night before.

"I like to be up early." Was all she said as she headed into the bathroom to get ready.

Alex decided to wait for her in the lobby. While he was sitting on the couch by the windows he saw Officer Swanson talking to a man behind some boulders to the side of the mountain. Thinking nothing of it he turned to watch the morning news that was being showed on the TV above the fireplace.

Shortly thereafter Victoria came in looking much better than she had before after taking a shower and putting on the new clothes Nurse Joy had given her. She sat down on the couch opposite him and watched the news with him in silence. Finally after a couple minutes of this she lost interest and turned her head out the window. Upon seeing the officer and the man he was talking to she froze up and looked around like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"What's wrong? Alex asked surprised by her sudden paranoia

"That man. He's the leader of the group who kidnapped me!" she said in a terrified whisper.

**Authors Note**

** I honestly hate to do that but there is far too much for me to put in one chapter so I split it up don't worry I will post part 2 Friday at the latest. **

** On another note I am still looking for new OC's I would like 4 more and please don't submit anonymously because I may wish to consult you on minor things I would like to tweak and I really dislike doing so without the Owners consent.**


	13. Chapter 13: The Dark Side of Mt Moon P2

Chapter 13: The Dark Side of Mt. Moon Part 2

"What are you talking about Victoria?" Alex asked. They had left the main lobby and were back in the room that they had shared the night before. Victoria had lost any of the composure she might have regained from the night's sleep and once again looked like a terrified wreck.

"The man talking to the police officer!" She insisted "He was the leader of the men that captured me!"

"I see." Alex responded pondering. If she was right then why was Officer Swanson talking to him? It was possible that the officer didn't know with whom he was speaking, though for such a high profile and dangerous criminal as a former Black Wall member that didn't seem possible. Furthermore why were they not talking back in Pewter City where the police station was located, why have discussions hidden well away from where others could see? The more he thought about it the more Alex became convinced that something wasn't adding up in this situation and that Officer Swanson was not to be trusted. Already weighing his next move he turned to talk to Victoria who kept throwing nervous glances out the window towards the men as if she thought they may come back for her. "Victoria!" Alex said in a raised voice to snap the girl out of her panic for the moment. "If I'm going to get your Pokémon back then I will need you to tell me a few things."

"What do you want to know?"She said apprehensively

"I need to know if the thugs who stole your Pokémon gave you any indication of where they were going."

"I don't know they didn't say much" She replied shaking her head. "The only thing I can tell you is that when one of them had his Zubat bite through the cables the leader yelled at him."

"What was he angry about" Alex asked curious

"He said that without the lights they would never be able to find the ladder. Then after a while the lights came back on and they threw me into the darkness and disappeared. That's when you came along and saved me."

"So, is that all you remember?" Alex asked disappointed. Victoria simply nodded her head weakly silent tears rolling down her face.

"I'm never going to see my Cubone again am I?" She muttered looking desperately at Alex.

"What did I tell you last night?" He said with more conviction that he felt "I will get you your Pokémon back and we'll make those criminals pay!" She gave him a small smile and turned away still not convinced. "Now the way I see it there is no point in sitting around this place all day feeling miserable. Let's go find your Pokémon!"

Soon the two were making their way towards the cave Alex feeling confident and Victoria looking around nervously. As they walked into the cave they were pleasantly surprised to find that the lights had been fixed making the whole mood of the cave much brighter than it had been the night previously. Alex noticed many thing he hadn't before as they walked in silence, like the Zubat that were inactive and hanging from the ceiling by their claws asleep for the day waiting for the night when they would spring to life in hordes. Many other Pokémon inhabited the cave as well including a large number of Geodude and a couple insect Pokémon with mushrooms on their back Alex recognized as Paras.

Despite these distractions Alex remained steadfast in his mission and looked around for the ladder that he had seen the night before. It did not take them long to find it but once they got to the spot where Alex had found Victoria she seemed to grow pale as if being in the spot was too much for her to handle.

"Are you sure you want to keep going with me?" Alex asked concerned by her reaction. "I can still escort you back to the Center if you want to wait for me there."

"No, no I'll be fine." She assured Alex sounding scared but determined. "I could never ask anybody to help me do something I wouldn't do myself." Impressed by her bravery considering the ordeal she had been through Alex started up the ladder to the second level of the mountain.

The upper level of Mt. Moon looked much like its lower counterpart though Alex noticed that there seemed to be fewer Pokémon around. A second later he was joined by Victoria and he two cautiously set off into down the narrow corridor. After a short while they began to hear voices coming from around the corner. Alex's hand immediately went to the Pokeballs on his belt ready to set his team free if need be.

There were the sounds of scuffling feet and the voices fell silent. Shadows fell in the light from around the corner and the voices resumed again. One of the shadows however moved closer to where Alex and Victoria were standing. As the shadow approached Victoria froze up and Alex grabbed the Pokeball containing his Magnemite off the clip on his belt.

A figure dressed in all black came around the corner and laughed upon seeing the two.

"Well what do we have here?" he said with a laugh calling to his group "Relax guys it's just a couple of trainers here to donate their Pokémon." The man was tall but did not look like he possessed much strength. Dressed from head to toe in all black he would have blended in if not for the light cast from what Alex could only assume was the hide out Officer Swanson had talked about.

Victoria seemed to be in all out panic mode backing away quickly and tripping in the process. The man simply laughed at her and was soon joined by the rest of his gang.

"Oh I recognize you now." He said with a malicious grin. "You're the girls whose Pokémon were donated yesterday, but I'm sure we can find another use for you…" At this last remark his crew looked at Victoria with lust in their eyes. Seeing her terrified face Alex resettled his nerves and stood in front of her Pokeball in hand ready to fight.

"Look boys isn't this cute, he's going to defend her." The group howled with laughter at their boss' joke "Well boy if it's a fight you want then it's a fight you'll get!"

"Bring it on you dirty bastards!" Alex yelled back seeing red. "You'll regret the day you crossed Alex Cheval!" The gang drew their own Pokeballs and their leader stood back to watch. The grunts released their Pokémon all Zubat and looked menacingly at Alex.

"Go Magnemite lets take these idiots down a peg or two!" Alex yelled. "Use Thundershock! Magnemite released its standard bolts of electricity but they were averted from their targets at the last moment and drawn into metal rods along the wall of the cave.

"Stupid boy!" The leader chided "Do you think you are the first to try electric attacks against us? Now finish him!"

"Zubat use Leach Life!" Came the simultaneous cry from the gang. Green bolts assaulted Magnemite from all directions attempting to drain its energy. Unfazed Magnemite weathered the attack as if nothing at all had happened. It seemed that the battle had come to a draw with Magnemite unable to land an electrical attack because of the lightning rods and the horde of Zubat's attacks useless against the steel ball's hard body. Undeterred Alex continued the attack anyway.

"Magnemite try to charge electricity around your body and tackle one of them!" He commanded hopefully. The Maneuver was more successful than he thought it could be with Magnemite performing Charge better than expected. The attack had an additional side effect of repelling Magnemite from the Zubat he hit into the rest of the group of bat Pokémon bouncing the steel Pokémon around like an electrocuting pinball. When the attack was over the group of bats lay on the ground twitching while Magnemite looked no worse for the wear. "Excellent work Magnemite!" Alex exclaimed to no response from the stoic Pokémon.

"You morons are proving to be incapable once again." The leader said stepping forward Pokeball in hand. "Go Houndour! Use Ember and send this fool down in flames!" The dog, whose fur was as black as the darkest night, shot balls of flame that reflected off of the reflective armor on its legs, head and back towards Magnemite. Hit full on by the powerful onslaught of fire combined with the energy spent clipping the wings of a horde of Zubat was enough to knock Magnemite to the ground and send it rolling towards Alex. Returning his injured Pokémon a new fury consumed Alex as get grappled for his second Pokeball.

"Go Mudkip!" He bellowed shocking even himself with the ferocity in his voice.

"Oh look every one he thinks he can intimidate us with loud noises." Their leader said drawing hesitant laughter from his gang as they had seen what Magnemite was capable of and were wary of Alex. "Boy do you have any idea who it is your dealing with? Do you?"

"I know that you are former members of the Black Wall and that you kidnap trainers and steal their Pokémon." Alex said more calmly than he believed was possible. "And I know that you are the scum of the earth and I will erase you from it." He said the edge creeping back into his voice as he spit out the last few words.

"Boy your insults mean nothing to me save them and your dramatic act for one who cares. My name is Saturn former commander of Team Galactic and Lieutenant of the Black Wall. I was transferred to this dreadful region from Sinnoh to help with the defense of Saffron but before I arrived it had already all but fallen. Some trainer and his Onix chased me down through the city causing me to lose my Pokemon and that is where I met my Houndour. The time we've spent in these caves trainer has made me unstoppable and you are no exception!"

"Save your boasts for someone who cares." Alex replied mockingly "Now are you going to stand around all day talking or are you going to fight me?" Enraged at Alex's nonchalant attitude towards his history Saturn scowled and instructed his Houndour to attack.

"Use Smog and hide yourself in it!" Houndour released a cloud of black smoke from its mouth and was lost in it instantly. "Now jump out and use Bite!" Houndour did exactly as its master instructed catching Mudkip from the side and picking it up in its mouth tossing it against the wall like it weighed nothing.

"No Mudkip!" Alex yelled =, but his concerns were momentary as Mudkip got to its feet hurt but able to fight. "Use Mudslap and try to clear some of this smoke!" The maneuver worked somewhat and some of the battle field became visible making it possible for Mudkip to locate the demon dog. "Now use Water Gun!" Alex yelled and Mudkip complied scoring a direct hit on Houndour knocking it back into a wall. "Finish this off with a Mudslap!" The mud covered Pokémon slumped against the wall exhausted and was returned by Saturn.

"You may have won this time but I'll be back!" He said as he ran into the cave, Alex began to run after him but was stopped in his tracks by the bright white light shining from Mudkip. Mudkip was evolving into a Marshstomp! The newly evolved Pokémon stood on its back legs happy as ever. Alex returned the Pokémon ecstatic that it had evolved but disappointed that Saturn had gotten away.

He turned his attention to Victoria who was over by a table full of Pokeballs stolen from trainers. All of a sudden he heard more footsteps coming from the way they had entered as if someone was running towards them. Alex turned around just in time to see Officer Swanson round the corner a Growlithe not far behind. Remembering what he had seen just hours before Alex was immediately on his guard and ready to take on the police officer.

However it did not seem like Officer Swanson wanted to fight. On the contrary he seemed surprised to see Alex and Victoria.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked genuinely surprised.

"I just defeated the criminals that were using these caves as their base of operations, but I think you already know that." Alex accused

"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked even more confused

"We saw you talking to Saturn earlier today!" Victoria Chimed in.

"Wait a minute who the hell is Saturn? The only person I've talked to today was a Magicarp dealer." He said looking confused. Then his face lit up as he realized that the Pokémon salesman and his crooks were one and the same. "I was so stupid. How could I not have known?" he groaned. "Well anyway I have to thank you for your help but I think I can handle returning these Pokeballs to their rightful owners." With that he started to gather the Pokeballs up and call for backup to help remove them as there was a substantial amount of stolen Pokémon.

"So did you find your Cubone?" Alex asked turning to Victoria who had been watching the incompetent police officer with amazement.

"Yes I did and it's all thanks to you!" She replied throwing her arms around him and giving him a quick hug.

"Well I'm just glad I could help you out" he replied as she released him.

"I have a question though." Victoria mumbled as if unsure of herself.

"What?" Alex asked intrigued

"Well as you can see I'm rather prone to getting myself in trouble and watching you battle today I realized that I could never battle like that."

"Now wait don't—"Alex began but she cut him off.

"No I don't have the passion for battling that you do and I could never do what you did. I would however like to see the world and want to know if you wouldn't mind if I went with you on your journey?" She said staring at him hopefully with the last few words.

"Well I don't see why not." Alex said thinking that at least he would have some human company on his journey. "But I think we should get going before Officer Swanson over there forces us to carry boxes."

With a laugh they set off into the depth of the mountain eyes set towards Cerulean City.

**Authors Note **

**Don't forget I am still accepting 3 More OC's and the requirement sheet for the OC's is on my Profile. **

**Trivia: I took Officer Swansons name from somewhere does anybody recognize it. **

**Answer to previous Trivia Was V from V for Vendetta when referring to Mr. Creedy.**

"**It's at this point in our story that along comes a spider. He is a man seemingly without a conscience, for whom the ends always justify the means"**


	14. Chapter 14: Kotav Syndrome

Chapter 14: Kotav Syndrome

"Are you joking right now?" Alex asked with a laugh "Taylor was a bug catcher?"

He dissolved into laughter at the thought of his rival donning the protective screening and wielding the long net of a bug enthusiast. Victoria merely nodded trying her best not to laugh at her old friend, but she could not keep the smile off of her face long and soon joined in his laughter.

The two traveling companions had left the dark caves of Mt. Moon behind them and were heading for Cerulean City for Alex's next gym battle. Thought they had left the lifeless caverns of the mountains behind them Alex had not forgotten what happened in their confines and was still bothered by the escape of former Team Galactic Commander Saturn and his band of thugs. The criminals had kidnapped Victoria and stolen her Pokémon and would have continued their reign of terror had Alex not put a stop to them. Victoria on the other hand seemed more than willing to forget that the entire ordeal had ever occurred and had been in a much better mood now that they were out of the mountain's shadow.

It was midday when the duo arrived in Cerulean city at long last. The streets of the town certainly lived up to their namesake and were paved with bluish stones Alex had never seen before. Looking around He saw that likewise the buildings all had a calming blue color not unlike that of a pool of water.

"So this is Cerulean City then." Alex said slightly awed by the sight.

"It feels so…calm" Victoria added looking confused. Alex shot her a look that said he didn't understand her confusion. "I forgot you lived in Pallet Town, you wouldn't have heard about it. This town was taken over by the Black Wall, but there was a ferocious battle with the gym leader."

"Is that the current gym leader?" Alex asked apprehensively not looking forward to facing a trainer that had taken on an entire Black Wall invading force by themselves.

"No, no don't worry' Victoria replied laughing a little at the look on Alex's face. "Misty and her Gyarados all but destroyed this town trying to rid it of the Black Wall. But when she saw the destruction she caused she gave up being a gym leader."

"Why?" Alex asked confusion still etched across his face.

"I don't really know." Victoria responded thinking. "I suppose she may have felt she failed to protect her city." The two headed off into the city while Alex thought about what she had just told him. He was glad in a way that he would not have to face such a ferocious trainer, but couldn't help wondering what the current gym leader would be like.

Water Pokémon were in great abundance as they walked through the serene streets. Every where they looked there were Poliwag and Wooper playing in the street and Alex even swore he saw a Vaporeon but Victoria refused to believe him regardless of how many times he maintained he had.

"I'm telling you it was a Vaporeon." He asserted for the hundredth time or so it seemed.

"And I'm telling you you're wrong." She snapped back at him. He was cut off from replying by the building that appeared in front of them when they rounded the corner.

In front of them stood the Cerulean City Gym, the spot of Alex's next challenge. After the massive construction he had seen in Pewter City Alex did not expect to be surprised by the appearance of a gym building but he was sorely mistaken. Where the rock haven had been a large and imposing structure it had also been rather bland a striking comparison to the building they were facing.

Made of bricks and mortar an old timey library looking construction was sitting in the middle of an otherwise uniformly blue street. Alex thought that it reminded him more of the old burned down science museum in Pewter than a Pokémon Gym. Standing at the base of a set of manageable steep white marble stairs they looked up at the magnificent building with its ivory pillars and large oak doors. Alex turned towards Victoria to question her.

"So what kind of gym is this again?" He asked once again confused

"I have no idea." Was her simple response

As he was about to question her further the large wooden doors opened and a man walked out to greet them. He motioned for them to climb up the stairs and follow him into the gym. The man whom Alex assumed to be this gym's caretaker was dressed in a pair of light khaki pants and a light blue polo shirt. He had light brown loafers on his feet and a dark brown belt around his waist. The belt contained no Pokeballs further cementing the idea that he was the caretaker in Alex's mind. Turning towards them as they finally entered the gym he spoke.

"Are you challengers?" He asked while the doors closed slowly and silently behind them. Looking around Alex was once again surprised by what he saw. He expected that because he was in a giant library that he would see bookshelves, but what he didn't expect to see were the pools of water in the center of the room and the streams that flowed in between and around the shelves of books that stretched up to the ceilings far above. "I'm sorry sir, but are you hear to make a challenge." The caretaker asked again noticing that Alex was lost in his surroundings.

"Yes he is, he's just a bit taken aback at the moment." Victoria responded for him. "Though to be honest this place is beautiful whose design was it?"

"That would be me." A voice said from their left side. Alex finally snapped out of the trance he had seemed to be in and turned with Victoria to look at the owner of the voice. Sitting down reading a large leather-bound book was a woman dressed in an entirely blue outfit. "After the old gym leader left I thought the place could use a bit of a renovation." She said with a small chuckle.

Taking a better look at her Alex saw that was not wearing an outfit that was completely blue but rather had donned a Cobalt blue jacket over a navy blue shirt and black pants. She had long blonde hair she kept corralled into a pony tail to keep it out of her narrow face. Her eyes were blue behind a pair of angular yet strangely fashionable glasses. Like the Man that had opened the door for them she too wore a belt around her thin waist. However unlike the doorman she had three Pokeballs attached to it.

"My name is Melissa Charon." She introduced herself while stepping forward to shake Alex and Victoria's hands. "Who will be challenging me today?"

"I will." Alex replied already sensing that this would not be an easy fight.

"Excellent." She said looking pleased and directing them to follow her. "Please let me tell you a bit about myself while we walk to the Battle room. As I told you my name is Melissa and I am the Gym Leader her in Cerulean. I came here only two years ago with my sister Nyx, from Pastoria City in Sinnoh, after an extensive tour of Johto. We both fell in love with this town but in the end there could only be one leader." She said with a slightly fiendish smile "I have been with my Pokémon for a few short but extremely fulfilling years and have learned much in that time. I do wish you luck in this battle." She added as she opened the door to the battle room.

Inside was an unsurprising setup for a water type gym. There were many pools that had podiums on either side for the trainers to stand on and white pillars that Pokémon not blessed with the ability to swim could stand on while battling.

In the center of the room there was a pool that was much larger than the rest and was obviously the spot of Alex's battle. As he followed Melissa towards the watery battleground Alex considered his strategy for the impending battle. Magnemite could hover so the water shouldn't be a problem and Marshstomp could swim so again there would be no problem. Starly however could do neither and would have to use the pillars to rest itself putting it at a disadvantage. Alex took his spot and looked across the pool towards Melissa nodding to indicate he was ready. He could see Victoria from the sidelines watching interestedly and thought to himself that it was odd having someone cheering him on in a battle as he previous battles had been solo affairs. Melissa seemed to be in position and indicated that she would announce the rules.

"We will use three Pokémon each. I may not swap Pokémon but the challenger is permitted to do so at anytime he does wish." She said matter of factually and without wasting anytime sent out her first Pokémon. "Go Wooper!" The small blue water Pokémon appeared and disappeared under the water moments later.

"Alright then let's fight water with water! Go Marshstomp!" Alex declared loudly releasing his own Water and Ground hybrid Pokémon. "Use Foresight to locate Wooper!" Obeying its trainer's command the mud dog scanned the water for its tadpole like foe.

"Use Tackle!" Melissa commanded and her Pokémon shot through the water toward  
Marshstomp like a cannonball. Marshstomp had seen it coming and dodged the attack easily. Still carried by the momentum of its attack Wooper ran into the side of the pool floating to the top momentarily stunned.

"Let's wake it up with a Mudshot!" Alex encouraged as his Pokémon shot a ball of mud at its small foe from its large mouth. The attack scored a direct hit and Wooper rolled over in the Water defeated.

"Not bad at all you are a tough trainer. Now go Buizel!" Melissa said complimenting him as she sent out her next fighter. Buizel was an orange weasel like creature with two tails and blue fins on each of its arms. Around the Pokémon's neck there was what looked like an air sac that could be used as a floatation device. "Now use Rain Dance." She commanded not at all deterred that this was her second Pokémon where as Alex was still only on his first. Her Buizel shot a ball of mist into the air which expanded above the field slowly becoming a large cloud from which rain poured freely soaking the battle field.

"That's fine." Alex said laughing a bit at Victoria's scramble to get away from the sudden precipitation. "We don't have a problem fighting in the rain. Marshstomp use Mudshot!" This time however Melissa was prepared for the ground attack.

"Buizel dodge with Aqua Jet!" With eye blinkingly fast speed the water weasel Pokémon shot ,from the pillar it was standing on to the one higher up that Marshstomp was perched on, using a surrounding of water to propel its self. Marshstomp fell into the pool but regained its composure quickly. However before it could locate its target Buizel hit Marshstomp from the side with a vicious Swift attack at the urge of Melissa. Dazed and confused Marshstomp collapsed unable to continue.

It was Alex's that looked frustrated after the amazing display of speed and ferocity by the quiet gym leader and her Pokémon overtook Marshstomp. But still determined he returned his Pokémon and grabbed Magnemite's Pokeball off of his belt. Buizel certainly had speed on its side but Magnemite had the type advantage and was not as susceptible to physical attacks as Marshstomp had been.

"Magnemite use Thundershock!" Alex commanded taking the imitative to take the fight to Melissa instead of waiting around for her to unleash her string of attacks. Lightning struck the Buizel but only clipped its side as the water Pokémon dodged it with a Quick Attack. The shock however did enough damage to Buizel to force it to change direction mid jump and land awkwardly in the pool where it disappeared.

"Now Buizel while he can't locate you use Aqua Jet!" Melissa utilizing the element of surprise.

"Magnemite shock the water!" Alex countered ready for her maneuver. Magnemite electrified the water and the current traveled up the pillar of water Buizel had left behind from its attack and scored a direct hit as electricity invaded the cocoon of water surrounding the speedy water weasel. The attack was multiplied so much by the water that Buizel was still slightly smoking as it floated in the water unconscious.

Melissa still looked calm and certain of herself even as she returned the latest victim of Magnemite's electricity. She looked at her last Pokeball a while before throwing into the battle as if she were remembering fond memories.

"Go Croagunk finish this battle for me!" She said, with a smile that Alex thought looked more like a smirk. A purple amphibian like creature that resembled an oversized frog standing on its back legs popped out of the ball. With a simple croak it took up residence on the pillar next which Magnemite was floating oblivious to the scene around it.

Alex was surprised at the sight of the dual Poison/Fighting Pokémon's appearance in the battle as he thought that this was a water type exclusive gym. But then again he supposed the gym leader could use whichever Pokémon she wished as it was her show after all. Still he couldn't keep the shocked look off of his face and Melissa noticed it quickly.

"Ah yes, everyone is always surprised to see my pride and joy." She said with a slight flourish. "But really you shouldn't be, I did say after all that I was from Pastoria City did I not? What else would I have, besides Croagunk's Dry Skin heals it in the rain making it the perfect finisher of pesky trainers?" She finished answering Alex's unasked questions.

Alex had reached a dilemma with this new unexpected installment to her team. He knew that Magnemite had more than enough strength to defeat this newcomer but also knew that the purple frog in front of him could inflict major damage with hard-hitting fighting type moves against Magnemite's part steel typing. He couldn't decide whether to play it safe with a simple strategy of multiple Thundershocks or just go for broke and try to pull off the much more powerful Thunderbolt technique.

Melissa looked as though she was losing her patience with Alex's inability to decide on a strategy and seemed to be preparing her own, one that would most likely end in the defeat of Magnemite. Sensing that he was running out of time Alex hastily ordered Magnemite to use Charge and realized his mistake a second too late. As Magnemite prepared it electricity he saw Croagunk's fist clench in anticipation of its trainer's command. And as Magnemite speed towards it that command came in the form of a Mach Punch. Croagunk's fist shot out like the very lightning bolts Alex had considered using against it and struck the underside of Magnemite's body sending it flying into a wall. The strength of the attack mixed with the simple fact that Magnemite had lowered its defenses for the attack doubled the damage and it was out for the count.

Shocked by the suddenness of the defeat Alex grasped his last Pokeball and hurled Starly into the battle. The small bird flew a few laps around the field obviously hampered by the continuing rain. Croagunk on the other hand seemed to be quite enjoying its self as the rain poured down upon it giving it a shimmering coat of slime.

"Starly use Wing Attack!" Alex said determined not to be plagued again by Kotav Syndrome. The bird attacked with its wings spread wide and knocked the foe from its place atop the pillar into the pool below where it floundered about for a bit before settling into a steady rhythm of treading water. Unwilling to let up Alex ordered another Wing Attack which sent Croagunk flying and ended the battle.

Just as he was about to return his Pokémon Starly started the now familiar glow of Evolution and moments later a Staravia stood where it had previously. Smiling Alex returned the newly evolved Pokémon and climbed down his podium. He headed over to where Victoria and Melissa stood by the side of the pool waiting and looked at Melissa expectantly.

"Her you are." She said holding out her hand to offer him a blue badge. "The Cascade Badge is all yours, now if you will excuse me I really must return to my reading."

**Authors Note**

**I would like to give credit to whoever submitted Melissa's character but they did so anonymously so no dice. I hope I portrayed her as much like you envisioned as possible. That being said I am Still Accepting OC's rules for posting are on my profile, but I would like to add that if you want them to be a type specialist try to give them pokemon that fit that type if not then just tell me no type specialty thanks.**


	15. Chapter 15: Black Masks and Gasoline

Chapter 15: Black Masks and Gasoline

Alex couldn't stop staring at the new Water drop shaped badge he had earned in his gym battle with the local water specialist gym leader Melissa Charon. More than one time his traveling partner Victoria had to stop him from running into various bookshelves in the extensive library that took up much of the cerulean gym.

"Will you stop staring at that thing?" She demanded after pulling him away from yet another wooden barrier. "At least wait until we get to a Pokémon Center to do that!" Alex was about to respond but his protest was cut short by a sudden plunge into darkness as the lights all went out simultaneously. There were no windows in the library; Melissa claimed it was bad for the books to be exposed to constant sunlight, so the room was turned pitch black.

All around them they heard the cries of angry and confused library patrons who wanted to know just why their day was being interrupted by a power loss. Alex released his Magnemite and had it use its electricity to light up the room a bit. In the dim light he could make out Melissa's form walking towards them an angry look on her face.

"I think this would be a good time to leave." Alex suggested to Victoria finally pocketing his badge. She nodded in agreement but before they could get very far Melissa was upon them.

"What did you and that crude ball of metal do!" she yelled pointing an accusing finger at Alex's Magnemite. "Why are my lights out?"

"Whoa whoa you don't think we had anything to do with this do you?" Alex asked though it was obvious she not only thought that but was convinced of it.

"Yeah, we were just leaving!" Victoria added supporting Alex.

"Stay out of this cheerleader." Melissa remarked curtly "If you didn't do it then who did?"

"I don't know." Alex replied shooting a look to Victoria, who looked like she was about to attack the small girl in front of her. Though he thought it could be entertaining to watch them fight it wasn't worth the problems it would cause. "Is it only the gym that was affected?"

Melissa decided that Alex did have a reasonable point and eventually agreed to go look around but said they weren't leaving her sight until she was sure it was not them who had caused the outage. Following Magnemite through what seemed like a maze of bookcases the group eventually managed to find the double doors that lead to the outside world. Pushing open the doors light flooded into the dark building momentarily blinding the three trainers. After they regained their sight they saw that the rest of the town was in a similar state.

Many people simply milled around the streets confused about what was happening and why the lights had just cut out. Walking down the street was none other than Officer Swanson, the rather naïve policeman whom Victoria and Alex had wrongly suspected as being in line with former commander Saturn at Mount Moon. He walked up to them barking orders into his radio as he did.

Upon seeing the two he did a double take but quickly recomposed himself and addressed Melissa.

"It seems the whole town is out of power." He said expecting a response out of the normally quiet but temperate gym leader. Instead she simply nodded and motioned him to get on with his report. "I suspect that this is the work of the criminals I am chasing now."

"Are you talking about Saturn?" Alex asked tentatively. He knew the man was a very dangerous and possibly deranged individual but he still wanted to take him out for what he did not only to the world as a whole during his time with the black wall, but also for what he had done to Victoria by kidnapping her outside Mount Moon.

"Yes, I am. And as a member of the Kanto Regional Police Force I have to ask you to not interfere with the investigation." He stated flatly

"Oh yeah, Why's that so you can buy Magicarp from them?" Victoria said surprising every one even herself but continued. "If it weren't for Alex here I might still be with them or lost in Mount Moon right now!"

"Uh well be that as it may it is protocol…" The officer mumbled trailing off as he lost conviction. He turned to Melissa and started a new line of questioning seeing that his cause was lost. "Where is the closest power source to here?" He asked rather timidly as if he was afraid that she would attack him like Victoria had very nearly done.

"The power plant is just east of here." She said calmly, having realized that this was not the work of Alex and Victoria and she was much more civil for this. "It is just south of Rock Tunnel's southern entrance, but most of the route there is over water."

"Water you say? Well we don't have any boats." Officer Swanson said

"Don't worry Officer as gym leader I will do my job to protect this town from whomever it is that is trying to do it harm."

"Oh well I guess… I mean… Alright I'll allow it but be careful these are dangerous men!" The officer said after deliberation.

"We will be." Melissa assured him as he walked away to try and settle the town down as it had fallen into a minor state of panic since the blackout. Turning to Alex and Victoria she gave them instructions.

"I wasn't lying when I said the path was mostly water you're going to have to swim over with your Pokémon." Noticing Victoria's concern Melissa handed her a Pokeball that contained her Wooper. "Here you can borrow this he will keep you safe. Now I do have to warn you that the power plant isn't the safest place to visit. It's filled to the brim with powerful electric Pokémon and there are even rumors that a Zapdos nests there occasionally. I will understand if you don't want to join me."

"What and miss out on all the fun?" Alex said lightly but knew inside that this would be a dangerous task.

"Actually…I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I stayed behind." Victoria said timidly. Her response seemed to surprised Alex who though she would want a shot to get back at her captors.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked

"Y-Yes I'm sure." She stuttered as she turned and ran towards the Pokémon Center.

"Well looks like it's just you and me." Alex said returning the Pokeball Victoria had returned to him before she had run off.

"Well come on then it's quite a trek out to the power plant and this town can't go for long without power." She said with a glance towards her gym that led Alex to believe that it wasn't just the town's people she was worried about.

An hour later they stood at the the end of Route 9 in front of a drainage pond, or at least that is what it looked like to Alex. The water went on past the safety barriers that had been put up to discourage visitors from following the shoreline to the power plant and Alex couldn't tell how far it stretched beyond that. The water looked to be a murky but not ominous color like that of a constantly churning river.

"Is this the way?" Alex asked apprehensively pointing toward the dark water.

"Yes this is the place." Melissa said as stately as her usual responses were but Alex couldn't help but notice the slight tone of worry in her voice. They released their Pokémon, Melissa her Buizel and Alex his Marshstomp, and began the journey in silence. After a brief swim around the peninsula they arrived outside of the power plant.

Alex saw it rising into view long before they had landed as it was a rather large towering structure. At least as large as the Gym in Pewter it had several smokestack protruding from its roof that were letting of large amounts of steam in great billowing clouds. From the inside they could hear shouting and the cry of what sounded like a very angry Pokémon.

With a silent look and nod the two walked onto the beach and returned their Pokémon to their balls and approached the building quietly. Alex slowly opened the main door and peered in trying to be as discreet as he could. After checking to see the coast was clear he motioned to Melissa to follow him into the building.

"I think that whoever is here is in the back." Melissa said in a hushed tone still not convinced that they were alone. She seemed to be right judging from the racket coming from further into the plant and Alex thought it best to follow her instructions as he had never before visited this place. "Further in this place gets very confusing, it was made like a maze to keep intruders from getting to the control room. And there are powerful electric Pokémon everywhere so we have to be careful." She said pointing out an Electabuzz that had been lurking around in the corner.

Alex nodded that he understood and they continued forward into the maze of electrical equipment Melissa taking the lead. As they progressed through the labyrinth of wires and generators Alex started to hear the shouting grow louder and recognized Saturn's voice though he couldn't make out any words he was saying. However from his tone Alex could tell that whatever was going on was not going well for the former Black Wall commander which gave him a strange joy.

As they approached the next corner Melissa stopped and looked at Alex fear in her eyes. Alex didn't understand what it was that had caused the trainer who had earlier been so determined to suddenly look terrified to move. Then he rounded the corner and saw what had struck his accomplice full of fear. In the next room stood the largest bird he had ever seen and the largest he ever hoped to see. It was a bright yellow with pointed almost spiked wings that were pitch black on the bottom. If the long beak, razor sharp talons, and slanted eyes weren't enough to momentarily cause him to lose his breath then the arcs of powerful electricity that shot from in between its wing sure enough were. This was an extremely dangerous creature that should not be messed with he thought to himself. Unfortunately Saturn and his minions did not seem to agree and were spaced out in a circle around the bird taking turns attacking it and attempting to distract it long enough for Saturn to make a move.

So focused were they on the battle that none of them seemed to notice Alex and Melissa even as they walked straight into the room. And they had good reason, Zapdos was an immensely powerful creature taking on five of their Pokémon at a time and showing no signs of weakening. Lighting shot from its wings and struck down Pokémon after Pokémon but the thugs kept the numbers going. Eventually Saturn got lucky and his Houndour inflicted a direct strike on Zapdos's back as the thunder bird swooped in to knock aside a Zubat with a vicious Drill Peck.

As Zapdos stumbled around dazed Saturn reached to his belt and threw a Pokeball and the legendary Pokémon disappeared in a flash of red light. For what seemed like an eternity no body made a sound as the ball rolled around with Zapdos's attempts at escape, but in the end it was too weak to continue the fight and the Pokeball flashed a red light indicating that Saturn had been successful in his unthinkable deed.

Alex let out a gasp and Melissa looked mortified at the spectacle that had happened in front of her eyes. Turning to survey the battlefield which had been littered with the unconscious bodies of his thugs Pokémon he finally saw the two witnesses to his latest actions. With a large smile he greeted Alex and shot him a look of pure contempt.

"Well boys look who it is." He said gesturing to Alex and Melissa "It's our friend from Mt. Moon come to witness the rise of a new power." His men laughed at his mockery of Alex causing Alex's temper to rise.

"What the Hell did you just do?" Alex yelled in outrage.

"Well I seem to have captured Zapdos." Saturn replied still mocking his enemy. "Now if you will excuse me I am very tired from this battle and I would like to leave now/ Good bye."

Suddenly ladders dropped from the ceiling and Saturn and his men started to scale them towards holes in the roof obviously made for such an escape. Alex ran forward a few steps in an attempt to stop them but was blocked by a horde of Zubat released by the criminals. He reached for his Magnemite's ball but before he could set it free the Zubat were returned as the men made their way to the top of the ladders and ran out of site, no doubt to make a quick getaway from the two and the police they must have thought were on their way.

Alex looked around angrier now than he had been at Mt. Moon. He had let Saturn not only catch a dangerous Pokémon to use for his criminal operations but had let the criminal escape yet again. Furious he saw Melissa bent over a large computer looking over the controls. As he approached she pushed a button and machines whirled to life.

"The battle must have caused the generators to malfunction. I'm just glad that nothing was seriously damaged." Melissa said far more calmly than Alex could have imagined.

"What are you talking about?" Alex yelled releasing his anger towards her. "A deranged criminal just captured a massively powered Pokémon how can you be so damn calm!"

"My responsibility is to my city." She responded simply and walked away.

Still fuming Alex turned and followed her. He knew that he would have to deal with this soon but for now he had to return to Cerulean City and to his partner. So with one last look around at the damage that had been done by the battle he left the power plant and returned to his quest.

**Authors Note**

**Tell me what you think I should use Saturn's new acquisition for. I do have a plan for this but my stories are always open to discussion within reason and I do value the feedback of those who give it.**


	16. Chapter 16: Hero of War

**Authors Note**

I have been busy with work lately so I appologise for such a long time in between posts. I will do my best to update sooner but I make no promises.

Chapter 16: Hero of War

Alex awoke the next morning in a much better mood than he had been the previous afternoon. It had been rather late by the time he got back to the Pokémon Center and Victoria had already retired to her room. Officer Swanson had on the other hand been waiting for him and had met him with a series of questions. Alex remembered little of the questioning as he had more or less tuned out the officer and gave him one word answers not going into detail with the incompetent policeman.

As he ran a shower his thoughts turned back towards the fight he had witnessed. He felt helpless as he remembered how fast the capture of the majestic bird had been. His bad mood returned as he remembered how brutal the former Black Wall soldiers had been to the legendary thunder bird Pokémon and his stomach curled at the thought of what the criminals might be planning to do with the poor Pokémon.

This thought both infuriated him and peaked his curiosity. He was dying to know what exactly Saturn had planned for the Zapdos. Was it merely a power play, would he use the Pokémon to attempt to resurrect the Black Wall, or was there more to his plan? Alex knew he would not be able to answer these questions until he found the man and questioned him himself but still he couldn't leave the thought alone.

Turning off the water and getting dressed Alex reluctantly turned his thoughts to his next gym match which would take place in nearby Vermillion City, the home of former military leader Lt. Surge a feared master of electric type Pokémon . Alex was looking forward to visiting the city as it was the last place his father had been seen by anyone to his knowledge. Surely he thought a strong trainer and leader like Surge must have known something about his father and possibly his mysterious disappearance.

Feeling slightly better because of these thoughts Alex walked out into the lobby of the center and found Victoria already out there sitting on a chair near the window. She didn't notice him at first she was staring out of the window something obviously on her mind betrayed by a troubled look on her face. She turned to him as he walked over to where she was sitting her face losing its troubled look so quickly Alex though he may have imagined it.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked her gesturing towards the door. Her answer was a quick nod and wordlessly they made their way out of the center pausing only to thank the nurse and return their room keys.

Their journey to the path that lead to Vermillion was a quiet one though Alex didn't mind. The silence gave him time to think about his next match with the high powered master of electricity. His only two battle experiences with the type had been his own Magnemite and Taylor's Elekid and neither of them fit into the general electric stereotyping. He figured that Lt. Surge would rely on the speed and raw electric power of most electric Pokémon and he would have to base his strategy off of that. Alex figured the best approach would be to negate their electric powers by using a ground type, however this would leave him wide open to their speed and cause them to be prone to be hit by flurries of powerful physical attacks. It was a problem he knew he would have to solve if he had any hope of defeating the former soldier.

As the two approached the gate house that separated route 5 from Saffron City and just south of that Vermillion City their destination a voice called out.

"Its closed so don't even bother." Alex and Victoria looked back to see a familiar but not joy bringing figure approaching. Now standing in front of them was the second trainer Alex had met that hailed from Viridian City, Taylor Ride. Taylor did not seem to share the feeling and acted as though he was meeting old friends. "How have you been doing by the way Alex?" he said cordially offering him his hand to shake. Alex was taken aback by the manner in which he was being greeted considering what had happened the last time the two had met, but he accepted the outstretched hand anyway. "And Victoria I haven't seen you since you left to go to Pallet Town to watch that tournament. How did you end up with Alex here?"

"We met at—"Alex began but was cut off by Victoria.

"I would rather not discuss that particular story." She said flatly with a look to Alex as if to insure his silence. Taylor was surprised by the abruptness of her answer but seemed to respect he wish and dropped the subject. Instead he turned back to Alex and his look turned serious.

"I know that we left on bad terms last time we met but I just want to apologize for what I said that day." Alex was once again surprised but accepted the apology and bid Taylor to go on. "I learned a lot from that loss and I realize how immature I acted. But I have been training since then and would like another battle if you don't mind?"

"Absolutely." Alex said thinking that this would be a good warm-up for his upcoming gym battle. "But let's just make this a one-on-one fight this time."

Soon a rough battle field was laid out and the two faced each other from opposing ends and each drew a Pokeball from their belts. Alex released his Staravia hoping to give it a quick battle because it probably wouldn't see much action in his next battle. Taylor had released his Magby and the two circled each other waiting for instructions from their respective trainer.

"Magby use Ember!" Taylor commanded suddenly serious. Staravia easily dodged the flames that spewed from the fire Pokémon's bill by flying high into the air. Magby countered by quickly adjusting its line of fire and singed Staravia's wing sending it tumbling back to the ground unceremoniously. Stumbling to its feet the bird looked towards Alex for a command.

"Staravia use Aerial Ace!" Alex yelled hoping the bird had the speed and agility to pull off the difficult but impossible to dodge move. To his relief he need not have worried about the skill of his bird Pokémon. Staravia shot into the sky so high in the air that it could not be seen from the battle field then while Magby and Taylor looked about confused it went into a dive. Shooting to the ground like a predator missile Staravia locked onto its target and pulled out of its dive at just the right angle to score a direct hit on the fire creature and send it flying of the battle field unable to fight any longer.

Taylor ran over to his down companion to make sure that it was not seriously injured before returning it to its Pokeball. Alex was amazed at the complete turnaround in his attitude and realized just how much he must have grown up since the last time they met. When he was finished attending to his Pokémon Taylor got up and walked up to Alex thanking him for the battle.

"I think that I needed that to show me just how far I have to go." He said with sincerity. 'If you want to get to Vermillion City there is an underground path that goes under Saffron and comes up just north of the city. The entrance is in that building over there." He said pointing to a small wooden hut just off of the main path.

"Thank you Taylor and I wish you good luck." Alex said to the retreating figure that waved back in acknowledgement eager to get his hurt Pokémon to a Pokémon Center quickly. "Well I suppose we had better get going then." Alex said and he and Victoria entered the hut, slightly nervous but excited as well.

The journey through the underground had been a new but overall uneventful one and the two had made their way to Vermillion City just before sundown. The gym was of course already closed by that time and both Alex and Victoria had been exhausted so they decided to go to the Pokémon Center to rest for the night. It was the next morning and Alex stood in front of the spot of his latest challenge, the Vermillion City Gym.

After Alex stepped inside he felt as though he had stepped into a war base. Computers lined the walls and every where he looked lights were flashing and screens were lighting up. It seemed as though the whole place was on red alert waiting and preparing for something to happen.

Not a minute after stepping into the gym red lights started to flash and sirens sounded all around Alex. People in military uniforms surrounded him and Victoria and a large man appeared from the back of the gym. Confused by the sudden proceedings Alex looked at the soldiers who had appeared looking to discern the cause of their appearance, but their faces showed no emotions just stern looks. Now even more confused he turned to the man who was the obvious leader.

He was a large man who towered above everyone else in the room and had wide shoulders and large muscled arms. He, like the rest of the occupants of the gym, wore what seemed to be a military uniform of some kind though the only insignia was a lightning bolt on the right sleeve.

"I'm sorry but what is going on here?" Alex asked "Are you Lt. Surge?"

"Yes I am and I am very interested in talking to you Alex Cheval." He said in a gruff manner his cold eyes starring Alex down. "I believe you and your friend here may have information that could prove very useful to my cause."

"Um sure no problem." Alex said looking towards Victoria for reassurance, but simply receiving a nervous nod. "What exactly do you think we know?"

"The questions I have are rather lengthy and I feel that it would be pertinent that we continue this conversation after our battle." Lt. Surge replied seeing Alex's still confused expression he continued. "That is why you are hear right? You wanted to challenge me did you not?"

"Y-Yes it is." Alex stuttered out not quite keeping up with the lieutenant's abrupt changes of topic. "But I thought you had questions for us?"

"That can wait. Follow me." With this final remark he lead them to a battle field in the back of the gym. As Alex prepared himself and stepped into the trainers box Lt. Surge explained the rules. "This will be a one-on-one competition. There will be no substitution by either side and the fight will last until one of our Pokémon is unable to fight any longer. Do you accept these terms?" Alex agreed that he did and the battle begun.

"Go Marshstomp!" Alex said releasing his Pokémon hoping that marshstomp's part ground typing would be enough to win him the battle. These thoughts faded faster than the Lt. changed topics when Surge let out his Pokémon. Facing Alex from across the ring was a Riachu of immense size. At least twice the size of a normal Riachu Lt. Surge's pride and joy dominated the battlefield casting a shadow over Marshstomp.

Uncertainty swept over Alex at the sight of the larger than life electric giant and suddenly he didn't feel very confident in Marshstomp's ground typing winning him this battle. Riachu looked over to its trainer bolts of electricity larger than Magnemite could ever manage shooting from its cheeks ready to pummel this new challenger right out of the gym. The gym leader gave a quick nod and without hearing a command surrounded its self in a curtain of electricity and shot across the field like a bullet from a gun slamming into Marshstomp using a move Alex recognized as Volt Tackle, an extremely powerful electric type move.

Marshstomp was thrown from the battlefield and had it not been for Alex diving in front of his partner it may have slammed straight through the wall behind the two. Alex simply stood openmouthed floored by Riachu's immense power. He was reminded in that moment of the electrical power that he had seen in the power plant a day earlier exhibited by the Zapdos that had been stolen by Saturn and his thugs. Lt. Surge returned his electric behemoth and addressed Alex speaking for the first time since the battle had commenced.

"I am sorry that I had to do that but we are very busy at the moment and I recognized that you would not leave without a battle. I will of course grant you a rematch in which I will reframe from the use of my oldest partner." He said very directly. "I suggest you heal your Pokémon at the Pokémon Center and meet me on the docks at seven hundred hours tomorrow. I wish you a good day." After issuing this order and apology he turned and returned to the throng of soldiers that surrounded him once more giving orders as he walked further into the base.

Later Alex sat in the Pokémon Center still recovering from the battle. He had lost plenty of times to Ethan and had even lost his first battle of his journey against Victoria but never had he been so completely trashed. H had not even had a chance to defend himself before Lt. Surge had wiped the floor with him. How did he ever think that he could compete with a trainer like that?

Victoria's attempts to cheer him up with talk of how he was probably just tired from the earlier battle with Taylor, while appreciated, did little to boost his spirits and he retired for the night feeling like this was a hopeless case and resigning himself to another messy loss the next day.


	17. Chapter 17: But Tonight We Dance

Chapter 17: But Tonight We Dance

The docks of Vermilion city were a very hectic, frantic and overall busy place. Everywhere around there were vendors peddling their wares out of booths, carts and even a few that were doing business out of the backs of small boats. As the morning sun beat down on Alex and Victoria they looked about for Lt. Surge who had instructed them to meet him here in roughly ten minutes.

In the mean time Alex and Victoria decided to check out the vendor's products. Most of the things being sold were the typical fare for a port town, Sea shells and lighthouse themed products were in abundance everywhere they looked. Just as Alex was beginning to give up hope of finding anything even remotely interesting, though the same could not be said for Victoria who had purchased a good quantity of the seaside products, he saw a booth towards the end that caught his eye. The sign said "Pokémon Adoptions- were the Pokémon chooses the trainer".

Leaving Victoria to her pursuit of trinkets Alex made a b-line for the strangely deserted booth intent on finding out what it was. The set up of the booth was simple but organized, on a flat wooden table laid six Pokeball and behind them was a man of medium height and build dressed in a purple jumpsuit. His raven colored hair laid flat over his forehead shielding his eyes from the overwhelmingly bright sunlight that burned down on the docks. It seemed to Alex that the calm man had not seen him walk up but just as Alex made to speak the owner beat him to it.

"What is it that you seek from me?" He asked in a cryptic voice.

"I uh…was wondering if I could um adopt one of these Pokémon." Alex answered slightly taken aback by the question and the manner in which it was presented.

"Very well but you should know it is not I who but the Pokémon who can answer that." He gestured for Alex to join him behind the booth and gestured for him to take one of the balls. "Please release the Pokémon inside."

Alex was still a bit apprehensive about the way this was going but did so anyway. Out of the Pokeball a Seal appeared. Immediately the Seal turned away from Alex and the strange man instructed Alex to return the Pokémon to its ball and handed him a new one. This strange manner of business continued until Alex reached the last ball. Feeling slightly dejected after being turned away from by the five Pokémon before Alex released the last Pokémon resigned that it too would probably turn away. However to his surprise he found himself bowled over by the small brown furry creature that immerged. The Pokémon was a dual Ice and Ground type that he recognized as a Swinub. Its furry snout was sniffing him eagerly and excitedly in apparent happiness. Alex turned to the owner to gauge his reaction and found that he was smiling down at the two, the first emotions Alex had seen on the man since he had arrived at his booth.

"Very well then." The man said pleased that one of the Pokémon had befriended Alex. "If you wish to keep him that Swinub is all yours."

"I do, how much do I owe you?" Alex asked unsure if he had the money to pay for this Pokémon however useful he thought it could be to his team.

"There is no charge." The man replied. "My name is Saku Fuji. My father runs a Pokémon orphanage in Lavender Town and cares for abandoned Pokémon. He sent me here with some of his rehabilitated charges and asked me to find trainers with whom they could flourish. But his only rule was the Pokémon must choose the trainer. I do not know you but I have a feeling you will take good care of that Swinub." Alex insured that he would and gave the man one last thanks assuring him he would visit him and his father in Lavender Town if he ever passed through.

After his meeting with Saku Alex returned to find Victoria engrossed in yet another display talking intently to the sales lady. Seeing how intent the two women were he decided it may be beneficial for his health to stay out of this argument and backed away from the stand. The sales woman seemed to be the stubborn sort who was at the moment refusing to make even a small concession, so eventually Victoria got tired of arguing and went back to find Alex standing next to Lt. Surge a few yards down the dock.

"You are both here now so I will make my proposal now." He said as she approached. "I know from Intel that I have set up around Kanto that you have had more than one dealing with the infamous Saturn former commander of the Criminal organization 'The Black Wall'. I simply wish to ask you a few questions." He silenced Alex with a hand motion and continued with his speech. "I do not ask you to do this without first granting you a favor however. I would like to ask you both if you would like to spend the night on the S.S. Vermillion, the luxury cruise liner you see behind me."

Behind Lt. Surge in the clear waters of Vermillion's bustling port did indeed stand a cruise liner. Alex sometimes saw similar ships passing through the waters beyond the Pallet Town bay but had never been this close to one before. It was an exceedingly large boat that is a couple dozen stories in height with more hidden beneath the waves. The top featured what looked to be a rock climbing wall and if the well dressed patrons he saw boarding the boat were any indication he was sure the inside would be as luxurious as Lt. Surge had said. The decision for Alex was clear and one look at Victoria told him that she was just as excited as he was at the prospect of staying on such a regal ship.

An hour later they had been given a room assignment and were boarding the boat. The insides blew Alex away; the floors were all made of marble inlaid with precious metals in the designs of legendary Pokémon. Everywhere he looked on the wood lined walls were beautiful portraits of faraway places; one depicted Mt. Coronet raising out of the clouds its peak soaring above that of the mountains around it. Their room huge and majestic with velvet carpeting and two king sized beds. Two doors, one on either side of the room, led to equally as impressive bathrooms that Alex was told by their serviceman contained heated floors and had both a large shower and tub with more jets than Alex really knew what to do with.

Lt. Surge came to great them a short time later and informed them that dinner would be served in the dining hall which was a floor above them in an hour and that appropriate dress was provided in the walk in closet that they shared. He did not stay long a brushed off their thanks with the wave of a hand and a few words to the effect that the captain owed him a few favors and that it was not a big deal.

Alex elected to enjoy the room a bit more but Victoria had nearly jumped and ran into the closet the moment Surge had mentioned to find a long elegant forest green dress waiting for her. Seemingly giddy she went into her bathroom to change while Alex flipped through the many channels offered by the cruise line on the large flat screen TV. After aimlessly pointing a clicking the remote he decided that he too should get changed least he incur the wrath of the formidable Lt.

When he opened the garment bag that had hung on what he supposed was his side of the closet he saw a full tuxedo much like the ones he had seen the other patrons of the ship wearing. As he dressed himself in the intricate suit he wondered what his father would think of this whole affair. He knew that this was where his father had disappeared and wondered if that had been what Lt. Surge wanted to talk to him about. Feeling optimistic he left his bathroom the suit more or less on right though he did have some trouble with the bowtie.

Alex couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Victoria standing in the center of their room in her newly acquired dress. She looked absolutely stunning, her long brown hair flowed seamlessly down her back where it lay perfectly flat and seemed to melt into the dark green silk fabric of the dress. The dress its self was a thing of beauty and the way it clung to Victoria's slim figure was breathtaking. Noticing Alex's gaze she looked over at him and started to laugh.

"You have got to be kidding me Alex." She laughed. "Hasn't anyone ever showed you how to tie a tie before?"

"H-Hey it's uh complicated." Alex replied defensively as she fixed the red mess of fabric that was supposed to be his neckwear. After another bout of laughter from Victoria the two left to go to dinner Alex still adjusting to her breathtaking new look.

Lt. Surge met them at the entrance to the dining room and led them to a small circular table in the back with three chairs. The size of the table was almost comical when compared to the huge space that was the dining hall. The ceiling was very high and though they were several stories from the deck moonlight flooded in through a gigantic glass window that served as the bottom of the pool on the deck above. Taking his seat he motioned for them to do the same and immediately began to speak.

"I understand that you two have met Saturn on multiple occasions." He said this not as a question but rather as a statement of fact and continued on with his speech. "I am very impressed that the two of you have managed to fend him off twice but would like to warn you to not attempt that feat again anytime soon. As you know he has managed to capture a Zapdos and is considered to be extremely dangerous. My question for you is when you fought him what did he say? Did he mention any other plans? I only ask because I am head of the Kanto Intelligence Agency as you may have been able t tell from the layout of my gym and we need all the information we can to stop this man."

"I am sorry sir but I don't know if I can help you." Alex replied honestly trying to remember what the criminal had said to him. Mostly he had just ranted and talked about his past life as a commander. "He never revealed anything to me that I can think of."

"I remember something." Victoria said surprisingly as she had been very timid around the Lt. up until that point. Alex looked at her questioningly wondering why he could not remember what she was talking about. "It was when his thugs captured me at Mt. Moon." She said shaking at the very memory of the occurrence and answering Alex's unasked question. "After they kidnapped me I heard one of them arguing to the others that they should have left me that I was wasting their time and that they should stick to the plan."

"And what was this plan?" Lt. Surge asked suddenly extremely interested in what the girl had to say.

"They didn't say exactly." She said and Surge's face fell. "But they referred to it as Operation: Broken Steel. And they kept talking about two other people, Mars and Jupiter I think, does any of that help you?"

"Mars and Jupiter you say? And Broken Steel?" Lt. Surge pondered for a moment then returned to the conversation. "I think you may have helped me and this case more than you know." He said to Victoria who smiled glad t has helped. He turned to Alex and said: "If you wish I will be ready to challenge you again tomorrow in my gym until then have a wonderful evening." Very quickly he turned to leave and within thirty seconds he had crossed the dining hall and exited through the front doors to a destination unknown to the two.

The dinner was a fancy affair of Lobster and other various sea foods. Both Alex and Victoria enjoyed it thoroughly. In addition they were instructed to release their Pokémon who were served top quality homemade Pokémon food. After the meal a band started to play and the center of the room was cleared away to form a dance floor.

Alex was unsure of what to do as he had never been much for dancing, but was dragged out by Victoria to dance to several fast upbeat tunes. Just as he was getting a feel for the thing the band switched up the music and started out a slow song as lightning lit up the sky above and cracks of thunder were heard from what sounded like a rather heavy storm. Alex tried to make his way back to the table but was once again grabbed by Victoria who guided him through the dance despite his protests.

"Victoria I don't dance!" He pleaded with her to no avail.

"Well I do and if you want me to keep help dressing yourself then you're going to stay here and dance with me." She said very seriously. Alex groaned at the mentioned of the incident with his tie but stayed and struggled through the dance. It was rough going but with Victoria guiding him it wasn't as bad as it could have been and the song wasn't terribly long which helped.

The band seemed to have had enough of the slow dancing and immediately after started another barn burner to Alex's immense relief.

_Crash!_

A bright bolt of lightning lit the sky up like day and something came crashing down through the pool above a cascade of water that was being drained through the whole like water down a drain of a gigantic bathtub following it in its decent. The object crashed into the floor and Alex saw that it was Lt. Surge's Riachu. A large chunk of glass from the pool bottom lay next to it and it was lucky to not have been impaled. Alex looked up through the hole and saw a man riding a bird and knew exactly who it was. Saturn. Another explosion shattered the rest of the pool as Zapdos directed more thunder towards the Riachu. Fortunately the force of the attack disintegrated the glass so that none of it fell as shrapnel on the dinner guests many of whom had left their Pokémon in their rooms if they had any Pokémon at all.

The dining hall was silent for a fraction of a second then Saturn swooped down on Zapdos and everything turned to chaos. Saturn flew down to the injured Pokémon and he seemed determined to finish it off. Alex looked at Victoria and she gave him a nod and left to retrieve his Pokémon while he distracted the man.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alex screamed over the noise of the crowd who had been quieted by the arrival of such a terrifying figure. Saturn looked around for the source of the one who questioned him.

"Simply taking care of business young Alex. But don't fret you will have your turn once I am done with this pathetic creature." He said his voice full of venom indicating the prone form of Lt. Surge's Riachu. Where was Surge Alex wondered? Surely he should be here by now he reasoned looking around for him. Saturn let out another cold laugh as he realized what Alex was thinking. "Oh I'm sure our military friend will be here eventually, but I think I left more than enough guards in his way to keep him busy for the time being. We have plenty of time to deal with all of our unfinished business. I do believe I owe you for that incident back at Mt. Moon do I not?" While he had been speaking Victoria returned with Alex's Pokémon and he now stood in front of Riachu ready to defend the helpless Pokémon. "Fine have it your way I'll deal with you first!" Saturn barked dismounting from his place atop Zapdos.

Alex released his most trusted Pokémon, Magnemite and waited for Saturn to make his move. Though Zapdos was powerful it had been hurt quite a bit by Riachu's attacks and was no longer the force it could be when healthy. Alex hoped that the desire for revenge had blinded Saturn to this and it seemed as though he was right.

"Zapdos use Zap Cannon and blow this punk out of the water!" Saturn yelled cackling. Magnemite was blasted by a white ball of electricity at least twice its size and thrown against the far wall. However instead of being hurt Magnemite seemed to absorb the energy from the attack. It started to glow white and make copies of its self. The glowing copies joined together and Magnemite became Magneton! Alex smiled to himself knowing that he was now more than capable of taking care of this problem.

"Magneton use Thunderbolt!" Alex commanded with complete confidence that his newly evolved Pokémon could pull of the powerful attack with no problem. Electric beams shot out from all of the magnets on Magneton's body meeting in the center of its mass where they were combined and fired in a crackling arc toward Zapdos who staggered under the blow.

The doors at the end of the hall busted outwards as Lt. Surge returned followed closely by a fierce looking Electivire. Saturn revealed his true colors and climbed back onto Zapdos and fled the scene with pure hatred in his eyes as he looked back at his would be captures.

The next day Alex met Lt. Surge in the Vermillion gym ready to battle but the soldier had other plans.

"I heard from the crew what you did for me and my Pokémon and for this city as a whole." He began. "I know you wish to battle me but my Pokémon are in no shape for that, but I will give you a Thunderbadge for your defense of those who needed it on the S.S. Vermillion. In addition the captain asked me to tell you that you have a free room on his ship whenever you need it." After presenting Alex with his badge Surge gave him a salute and wished him a good day and good luck on his journey. Alex left the Vermillion gym feeling accomplished but tired from his ordeal and ready for a long rest before the next step of his journey.


End file.
